PIA Holding Company Limited (PIAHCL): FY24 in Focus

PIA Holding Company Limited (PIAHCL) shared its results for FY24, and the numbers show both challenges and opportunities across its businesses. Here’s a breakdown in simple words.

Strong profits from the Roosevelt Hotel

The big driver of earnings was the Roosevelt Hotel in New York, which is currently being used as a migrant shelter under a contract with the City of New York. Thanks to this, the company posted a profit after tax (PAT) of PKR 7 billion on a total revenue (topline) of PKR 34.7 billion.

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But there’s a catch: this contract can be ended with just 120 days’ notice. Since the hotel is old and located in a prime area, it also needs regular investment for upkeep.

Skyrooms, Karachi Airport Hotel

PIA also runs the Airport Hotel in Karachi under the Skyrooms brand. While it hosted 41,000 guests in FY24 (mostly PIA-related travelers), the hotel still reported a loss of PKR 65.6 million despite generating PKR 272 million in revenue. The good news is that the hotel’s capacity expanded to 208 rooms after renovations, and it also recovered PKR 33 million in tax refunds.

Sabre travel network

Sabre, PIA’s travel booking platform, recorded PKR 726 million in commissions during the year. However, its profits fell to PKR 2.5 million compared to PKR 8.5 million in the previous year.

Why the decline?

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• Fewer bookings by regular clients
• Temporary unavailability of Turkish Airlines content

On the positive side, Sabre managed to:

• Add 25+ new clients (expected to generate ~50,000 annual bookings)
• Renew 35+ customers (covering 150,000+ bookings annually)
• Introduce direct booking options with Emirates and Oman Air

In total, 1.19 million bookings were made through the platform in FY24, slightly lower than 1.25 million last year.

Key risks

PIAHCL businesses depend heavily on:

• International tourism trends
• Smooth airline operations
• Exchange rates (though exchange losses fell sharply to PKR 2.4 billion in FY24 from PKR 26 billion last year).

PIA Holding Company’s FY24 performance shows that while the Roosevelt Hotel is driving profits, other businesses like Skyrooms and Sabre are struggling with challenges. Diversification is good, but sustainability depends on steady tourism, flight activity, and maintaining contracts like the Roosevelt deal.

For now, the group remains profitable, but the future will depend on how well it manages risks and continues to adapt.

Source: Taurus Securities Limited

⚠️ This post reflects the author’s personal opinion and is for informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice. Investing involves risk and should be done independently. Read full disclaimer →