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       RAWALPINDI: The bo--ard of directors of Pakis-tan International Airlines (PIA) has approved its fin-ancial results for 2024, which show the airline achieving a net profit after around 21 years, a PIA spokesperson said on Tuesday.

       According to the results for FY2024, PIA earned an operational profit of Rs3.9 billion and a net profit of Rs2.26bn.

       The airline’s operating margin was more than 12pc, which is on a par with the performance of any of the best airlines in the world, the spokesperson said.

       The airline last achie-v--ed profit in the year 2003. Recently, the struggling airline had undergone comprehensive reforms and restructuring.

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       In this process, PIA’s ma--npower and expenditu-res were considerably red-uced, while measures such as ensuring stability in profitable routes, shutting down loss-making rou-tes and restructuring its balance sheet were taken.

       In a post on X, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif — who also holds the aviation portfolio — celebrated the news, saying that process of the airline’s privatisation would benefit from this development.

       According to Bloomberg, the results mark a turnaround for the airline whose financial losses have seen its aircraft being impounded at foreign airports, flights cancelled, and the carrier running close to a default in recent years.

       The government tried, and failed, to sell its airline last year after the initial bid fell short of the minimum price of about $306 million. Now, it is making another push, with initial bids due later this month.

       For the sale of the airline, the government has carved out about three-quarters of the airline’s debt to government books to make the sale more attractive.

       It has now removed all the debt, and the companies that participated earlier have shown renewed interest, Bloomberg quoted privatisation secretary Usman Bajwa as saying in February.

       Operational gains had previously been eroded by the substantial debt servicing burden from the mounting losses.

       Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2025