CPEC plants double Hubco's dividend haul to Rs29bn

Hub Power Company (HUBC) booked dividend income of Rs29.31 billion during FY26, drawn from investee companies and associated firms, almost double the Rs14.91 billion received a year before. A research note from Arif Habib Limited attributes the jump to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) power projects that began sending cash upstream in a meaningful way. Per share, the standalone figure climbed from Rs11.50 to Rs22.59, a 96% gain.

Thar Energy Limited, a 330MW coal-fired plant, paid Hubco its first dividend, worth Rs10.85 billion. Hub Power Holdings Limited, the vehicle that holds Hubco's stakes in China Power Hub Generation Company and ThalNova Power Thar, upstreamed Rs11.60 billion against nothing in FY25. Together the two made up about 77% of the total, while Narowal Energy Limited, previously the largest source at Rs10.15 billion, paid nothing this year.

Hubco's own payout for FY26 stood at Rs20 per share, and its per-share dividend income of Rs22.59 covered that payout about 1.1 times, which AHL says is the first such year in its six-year data set. The FY25 payout was Rs15 per share, while income that year was Rs11.50. The note also cites robust cash positions at Thar Energy, ThalNova Power Thar and China Power Hub Generation Company, which it links to better cash generation and solid returns on equity.