CPEC plants double Hubco's dividend haul to Rs29bn

September 28, 2026 (MLN): The Hub Power Company Limited (PSX: HUBC) collected Rs29.31 billion in dividends from its subsidiaries and associates in FY26, nearly double the Rs14.91bn it received a year earlier, as its China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) power projects began sending cash upstream in earnest, according to a research note by Arif Habib Limited (AHL). On a per-share basis, standalone dividend income ros

The Hub Power Company Limited (PSX: HUBC) collected Rs29.31 billion in dividends from its subsidiaries and associates in FY26, nearly double the Rs14.91bn it received a year earlier, as its China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) power projects began sending cash upstream in earnest, according to a research note by Arif Habib Limited (AHL).

On a per-share basis, standalone dividend income rose to Rs22.59 from Rs11.50 in FY25, a 96% year-on-year increase.

Almost all of the growth came from two sources. Thar Energy Limited (TEL), the 330MW Thar coal-fired plant, paid its first dividend to Hubco, contributing Rs10.85bn. Hub Power Holdings Limited (HPHL), the vehicle through which Hubco holds its stakes in China Power Hub Generation Company (CPHGC) and ThalNova Power Thar (TNPTL), upstreamed Rs11.60bn, compared with nothing in FY25. Between them, the two accounted for about 77% of Hubco's total dividend income for the year.

Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) added Rs2.59bn after paying nothing the previous year, while Laraib Energy Limited (LEL) contributed Rs3.52bn, broadly flat against Rs3.55bn. Hub Power Services Limited (HPSL) paid Rs750 million, down from Rs1.22bn.

The FY26 total was reached even without a contribution from Narowal Energy Limited (NEL), which had been Hubco's single largest dividend source in FY25 at Rs10.15bn and paid nothing in FY26.

The surge therefore reflects a shift in where Hubco's cash comes from, with the newer CPEC assets more than replacing the dividend from one of its older plants.

The longer trend is even sharper. In FY20, Hubco's dividend income stood at just Rs1.23bn, or Rs0.95 per share. It has since risen roughly 24-fold, which AHL attributes to CPEC-linked independent power producers progressively reaching maturity and beginning to distribute cash to their parent.

For shareholders, the most significant change is in how Hubco's own payout is funded. The company declared a dividend of Rs20 per share for FY26, and for the first time in the six years covered by AHL's data, the dividend income it received (Rs22.59 per share) exceeded what it paid out, covering the payout about 1.1 times.

In each prior year, Hubco's payout outstripped its standalone dividend receipts. In FY25, it paid Rs15 per share against Rs11.50 of dividend income, and in FY23 it paid Rs30 against Rs10.46.

AHL expects the trend to continue. The brokerage noted that TEL, TNPTL and CPHGC continue to hold robust cash positions, backed by improving cash flows and strong returns on equity, which it said should provide further support to Hubco's dividend payouts going forward.

HUBC - Stand. Dividend Income

Source: Company Financials

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