KARACHI: Listed consumer companies (staples, pharmaceuticals and discretionary) recorded a profit of Rs244 billion in 2025, up by 28 per cent.

For this analysis, Topline Securities selected companies with a market capitalisation above $100 million in their respective sectors.

Net revenues of consumer companies rose by 14pc YoY in 2025 owing to better macroeconomic conditions and a stable excha­nge rate.

During 2025, pharmaceuticals profitability surged 79pc YoY to Rs36bn, mainly driven by higher gross margins amid falling global API costs and deregulation of non-essential drug prices.

Myesha Sohail of Topline Securities said that discretionary companies’ profits rose by 35pc YoY to Rs98bn supported by a rise in gross profits by 46pc YoY.

Gross margins of discretionary companies impro­ved to 17.32pc in 2025 from 15pc in 2024, driven by a stable rupee-dollar parity, higher car sales, and new variants introduced as economic activity picked up.

She said the staples companies grew 13pc YoY to Rs110bn.

Bank profitability

The banking sector’s profitability is expected to decline by 9.5 per cent in the first quarter of CY2026 over the same period last year.

A report, issued by Arif Habib Ltd (AHL) on Tuesday, said that in the first quarter of CY26, the banking sector is expected to post a 9.5pc year-on-year decline in overall profitability, along with a 1.4pc drop quarter-on-quarter, mainly due to lower interest rates compared with the same period last year, leading to compression of Net Interest Margins (NIMs), which may be supported by higher secondary market yields.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2026