It is learnt that in the first six months during this year, PIA witnessed a significant increase in its revenues due to increase in real yield and there is an overwhelming increase in seat factor to over 80 percent. Reportedly, the operational loss of PIA has been reduced significantly as compared to the same period in 2018. However, one feels that in line with the guidelines of probably the SECP & PSX, PIA cannot release exact figures until the external audit for 2019 is completed and financial statements are approved by the Board.
However, the above mentioned positive trends were seemingly mitigated by factors beyond the airline’s control – like depreciation of the Pak rupee by 30 percent against the US dollar, and significant increase in finance cost due to increase in policy rate. PIA manages its liquidity by cash generation from operation and financing against guarantees of the government of Pakistan. Due to the fiscal constraints because of the IMF programme, PIA’s approved guarantee limit was significantly reduced in July 2019, which created a liquidity problem for PIA. However, it appears that PIA is trying to manage it through its own resources along with the government’s support. I feel that the present administration has the right tools and motivation to turn around this fantastic organization like it used to be a few decades ago.
M Asif
Karachi