Listed company profits up 25% in first nine months of 2026
Profits of Pakistan's listed companies rose 25% year on year in the first nine months of 2026, the best for that period in three years. Finance adviser Khurram Schehzad shared the figure on X on Thursday.
For information only, not investment advice. Prices change quickly: check the time and source of every figure.
- Listed company profits rose 25% in January-September 2026, the strongest for the period in three years, according to Khurram Schehzad.
- Arif Habib Limited put combined earnings of top listed firms at Rs1.638 trillion, up 26%.
- Banks remained the largest contributor but their profits grew only 1%.
Pakistan's listed corporate sector recorded a 25% year-on-year increase in profits in the first nine months of calendar year 2026, the strongest growth for this period in three years. Advisor to the Finance Minister Khurram Schehzad announced this in a post on X on Thursday, 12 November.
Schehzad said earnings grew 18% in the fiscal year to June and 23% in the July-September quarter. Earnings outside banks jumped 37% in the latest quarter. He credited macroeconomic stability, easing financing pressure and reforms in fiscal, energy and business policy, and cited 2026-27 budget measures that give businesses and exporters targeted tax relief.
Government figures show profit growth of 43% for exploration and production companies, 144% for oil marketing companies, 304% for engineering firms, 31% for technology, 19% for cars, 14% for pharmaceuticals, 13% for cement and 11% for fertiliser.
Brokerage Arif Habib Limited reported that combined earnings of top listed companies rose 26% to Rs1.638 trillion in the nine months. Its study covered 85 companies holding about 96% of KSE-100 index weight and nearly 80% of total market capitalisation. Its figures differ slightly from the government's because the samples differ.
In the brokerage's data, exploration and production profits rose 64% to Rs420 billion, owing to higher global oil prices, better production after output cuts eased in March, and a lower effective tax rate. Refineries' earnings rose almost 40 times to Rs56 billion on higher volumes and wider margins. Oil marketing companies earned Rs46 billion, up 62%, on inventory gains and lower financing costs.
Fertiliser earnings rose 23% to Rs151 billion, led by Fauji Fertilizer and Engro Fertilizers. Textile composites gained 65% to Rs16 billion as sales rose, borrowing costs fell and exporters lost the super tax. Cement makers earned Rs142 billion, up 17%, as dispatches rose 6% and prices 7%. Car assemblers grew 25% to Rs55 billion on volumes and new models.
Commercial banks remained the largest single contributor to earnings, but their profits grew only 1%. Schehzad said the corporate sector is moving beyond recovery and the next phase should turn earnings into investment, factory expansion and jobs. He added that lasting growth needs more private-sector participation.
Background
khabr.pk reported on 3 November that easypaisa Digital Bank posted a pre-tax profit of Rs13.30 billion for the first nine months of 2026, 2.35 times the level a year earlier. The KSE-100 index closed at 179,083 points on 11 November, according to khabr.pk's records.
Why it matters for Pakistan
Listed companies employ workers and fund expansion, so the government's call to turn earnings into investment, factories and jobs bears on employment in Pakistan. Investors in the KSE-100 firms, which the Arif Habib study says hold about 96% of index weight, can see where earnings are growing and where they are not. Fertiliser, cement, car and oil companies serve farmers, builders and consumers. Banks, the largest contributor, grew only 1%.
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