Steel producers post outstanding results in Q1

Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The surge in prices of steel since the beginning of 2021 helped many steel producers record good performance in the first quarter. 

Rebar futures contracts, trading on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, increased sharply due to supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The most traded May rebar contract climbed 17.4 percent this year and traded at 5,101 yuan per tonne. The rebar price rose 51 percent compared to April 2020. 

In its first quarter finance result, Hoa Sen Group (HSG) posted an increase of nearly 382 percent year-on-year in net revenue to 9.1 trillion VND, leading to a rise of 215.8 percent in profit after tax to 572 billion VND.

HSG said that the gain was mainly driven by increases in net revenue and falls in financial expenses, dropping nearly 30 per cent in the first quarter. 

Ho Chí Minh City Metal Corporation (HMC) also witnessed strong growth in business results during this period with its revenue rising 40.4 percent over the same period of 2020 to over 1.1 trillion VND.

The company's profit after tax gained over 10 times compared to last year to 64.7 billion VND, marking the highest quarterly profit since it was founded. 

In the financial report, HMC said that the main reasons for the company's outstanding performance were gains in sales and higher steel price. 

The company will hold its annual general meeting on April 26. In a report prepared for the meeting, HMC set this year's target of 3.45 trillion VND in revenue, down 5 percent year-on-year, with profit after tax increasing 16 percent to 44 billion VND.

Another steel producer posting good results in the first quarter was Thu Duc Steel JSC (TDS).

The quarterly financial report showed that the company's net revenue rose 22.7 percent year-on-year to 601.6 billion VND. Its profit after tax also posted a gain of 45.5 percent to over 12.8 billion VND. 

According to TDS, its steel consumption increased to over 1,760 tonnes in the last quarter while the steel price continued to rally.

The sharply decline in financial expenses also supported TDS' business results. The fees slid nearly 76 percent year-on-year in the first quarter. 

In 2021, TDS is expected to reach 20 billion VND in profit before tax. 

On the Ho Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), HSG and HMC closed higher on April 19, up 5.86 percent and 6.91 percent, respectively. 

TDS, which trades on UPCOM, also opened the new week on a positive note. The TDS shares increased 14.62 percent to 24,300 VND./.