The Hub Power Company Limited (PSX: HUBC) received Rs29.31 billion in dividends from its subsidiaries and associated companies during fiscal year 2026, almost twice the Rs14.91 billion collected in the previous year. The sharp increase was largely driven by stronger cash distributions from power projects associated with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which have reached stages where they are generating sufficient cash flows to distribute dividends to their parent company. The figures were highlighted in a research note by Arif Habib Limited, which noted a substantial increase in Hubco’s standalone dividend income during the year.
Hubco’s dividend income on a per-share basis increased to Rs22.59 in FY26 from Rs11.50 in FY25, representing a 96% year-on-year increase. The growth was concentrated among several subsidiaries and associated companies, with Thar Energy Limited and Hub Power Holdings Limited accounting for the largest portions of the increase. Thar Energy Limited, which operates a 330-megawatt Thar coal-fired power plant, paid its first dividend to Hubco during FY26, contributing Rs10.85 billion. Hub Power Holdings Limited, through which Hubco holds interests in China Power Hub Generation Company and ThalNova Power Thar, contributed another Rs11.60 billion, compared with no dividend contribution in FY25.
Together, Thar Energy Limited and Hub Power Holdings Limited generated approximately 77% of Hubco’s total dividend income during FY26. The company also received Rs2.59 billion from Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company, which had not paid a dividend to Hubco in the previous year. Laraib Energy Limited contributed Rs3.52 billion, broadly in line with the Rs3.55 billion it paid in FY25, while Hub Power Services Limited distributed Rs750 million, down from Rs1.22 billion a year earlier. These contributions helped push Hubco’s total dividend receipts substantially higher despite the absence of a dividend from Narowal Energy Limited.
Narowal Energy Limited had been Hubco’s largest individual dividend contributor in FY25, when it paid Rs10.15 billion to the parent company. It did not make a dividend contribution in FY26, meaning the overall increase in Hubco’s dividend receipts came from a change in the composition of its cash inflows. The newer CPEC-linked assets, particularly Thar Energy Limited and the investments held through Hub Power Holdings Limited, more than offset the loss of the dividend previously received from Narowal Energy Limited.
The longer-term increase in Hubco’s dividend income is also significant. According to the Arif Habib Limited analysis, the company received only Rs1.23 billion in dividends in FY20, equivalent to Rs0.95 per share. By FY26, the amount had climbed to Rs29.31 billion, or Rs22.59 per share, representing roughly a 24-fold increase over six years. The brokerage attributed this expansion to CPEC-related independent power producers reaching operational maturity and progressively generating the cash flows required to distribute returns to their parent company.
The increase in dividend receipts has also changed the relationship between Hubco’s standalone dividend income and its own shareholder payout. Hubco declared a dividend of Rs20 per share for FY26, while its standalone dividend income reached Rs22.59 per share. This means that, for the first time in the six-year period covered by the Arif Habib Limited data, dividend income received by Hubco exceeded its own declared payout, providing coverage of approximately 1.1 times. In previous years, the company’s declared dividend had remained above its standalone dividend receipts.
The difference can be seen in earlier years, when Hubco paid Rs15 per share in FY25 against standalone dividend income of Rs11.50 per share. In FY23, the company declared Rs30 per share while its dividend income stood at Rs10.46 per share. The FY26 figures therefore indicate a shift in the extent to which Hubco’s shareholder distribution is supported by dividends received from its subsidiaries and associated companies.
Arif Habib Limited expects the contribution from the newer power assets to remain relevant for Hubco’s future dividend capacity. The brokerage noted that Thar Energy Limited, ThalNova Power Thar and China Power Hub Generation Company continue to maintain strong cash positions, supported by improving cash flows and healthy returns on equity. According to the research note, these financial conditions could provide continued support to Hubco’s ability to receive dividends from its investments and maintain shareholder payouts.
The FY26 results consequently show a changing source of dividend income for Hubco, with CPEC-linked power investments becoming a major contributor to the company’s standalone cash receipts. While the company received no dividend from Narowal Energy Limited during the year, higher distributions from Thar Energy Limited, Hub Power Holdings Limited and Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company more than compensated for the decline in some other contributions. The overall dividend income of Rs29.31 billion represents a substantial increase from the Rs14.91 billion recorded in FY25 and highlights the growing contribution of Hubco’s newer power-sector investments to its financial returns.
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