Author: Admin

PPL Profits Cool in 1HFY26 as Margins Compress and Other Income Slumps

Admin

Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PSX: PPL) reported a softer earnings performance in 1HFY26, as a modest decline in revenue, rising operating costs, and a sharp drop in other income weighed on profitability despite the company remaining solidly in the black. During the first half of FY26, revenue from contracts with customers fell 7 percent year-on-year. The decline in the topline proved significant, particularly as the company’s cost structure did not adjust proportionately. While royalties and levies declined 10 percent year-on-year, offering partial relief, operating expenses rose 10 percent, resulting in margin…

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Petroleum Division Faces Dilemma Over ISMO’s Revised RLNG Demand

Admin

ISLAMABAD: The Petroleum Division is facing a complex policy challenge after the Independent System and Market Operator (ISMO) sought further reductions in nearly 10 additional RLNG cargoes for 2026—beyond already adjusted volumes—raising concerns about a potential breach of the Integrated Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP). According to senior officials, Special Secretary Petroleum Mirza Nasiruddin Mashhood Ahmad, in a letter to the Power Division, referred to ISMO’s December 13, 2025 communication that revised downward the RLNG demand for the power sector for calendar year 2026. Under long-term LNG Sale and Purchase…

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Arif Habib-Led Consortium Moves to Acquire Full Control of PIA

Admin

ISLAMABAD:* The consortium led by the Arif Habib Group has announced plans to acquire the remaining 25 per cent government stake in Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), aiming to secure complete ownership of the national flag carrier. In December 2025, the group purchased a 75 per cent stake in PIA for Rs135 billion, with a commitment to turn around the loss-making airline through operational restructuring, fleet modernisation, and enhanced customer services. The acquisition of the remaining shares, valued at approximately Rs45 billion, will enable the consortium to implement its revival strategy…

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Latest Petrol Price in Pakistan 16 Feb 2026

Admin
Petrol-Diesel

ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Sunday raised the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel by Rs5 and Rs7.32 per litre, respectively, for the next fortnight, starting from February 16. After the increase, the new price of petrol will be Rs258.17 per litre from Rs253.17; whereas, the diesel rate was hiked to Rs275.70 per litre from 268.38. The Petroleum Division announced in a notification that the revised fuel prices will take effect from February 16 and remain applicable for the upcoming fortnight. In the previous review, the federal government raised the…

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Taxing the Sun By Dr Farrukh Saleem

Admin
solar-Project

The government of Pakistan has done something no ruler, empire, dynasty or civilisation in human history has managed to do: It has taxed the sun. From the Pharaohs to the Romans. From the Mughals to the British Empire. Kings taxed land. Emperors taxed salt. Colonial powers taxed tea. But no one — not even at the height of imperial ambition — taxed sunlight. Until now. For 4.6 billion years, the sun has risen without invoice. It has shone without a billing code. It has powered crops, warmed oceans and lit…

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