Steel producers report heavy losses for second consecutive quarter

The steel industry's fourth-quarter financial statements of 2022 show heavy losses for Hoa Phat, Hoa Sen, Nam Kim, VNSteel, and Tisco. The five industry giants have now seen losses for the second consecutive quarter, with more than VND3.5 trillion ($152.2 million) lost in the last quarter of 2022.

Hoa Phat Group (HSX:HPG), reporting the biggest individual net loss of more than VND2 trillion ($85.2 million), continue to fall after a loss of nearly VND1.8 trillion ($76.6 million) in the third quarter. In the last quarter of the year, the group's revenue also decreased by 42 per cent on-year, to VND26 trillion ($1.1 billion).

Hoa Phat recorded a revenue of VND142 trillion ($6.05 billion) for the whole of 2022, down 5 per cent on-year. After-tax profit for the whole year reached more than VND8.4 trillion ($365.2 million), equivalent to a quarter of that in 2021.

Hoa Sen Group's (HSX:HSG) ($29 million) (VND680 billion) losses were an improvement compared to VND887 billion ($37.8 million) in the third quarter last year. Similarly, VNSteel (HSX:TVN) reduced its losses from VND567 billion ($24.15 million) in the previous quarter to VND410 billion ($17.47 million) in the fourth quarter.

Nam Kim (HSX:NKG) and Tisco (HSX:TIS) also improved on their previous quarter losses, at VND356 billion ($15.2 million) and VND17 billion ($724,000) in the last quarter of the year, respectively.

The drop in consumption combined with the continuous decline in prices have significantly affected the revenue of steel producers. According to the Vietnam Steel Association, total steel product consumption in 2022 was 27.3 million tonnes, down 7.2 per cent compared to 2021, and total export turnover was 6.28 million tonnes, down nearly 20 per cent.

Construction steel was the only item that recorded a slight increase in output by 3 per cent on-year, while consumption of galvanised steel decreased by 22 per cent, mainly due to the weakening of the export market by 38 per cent. Sales of downstream products such as galvanised steel and steel pipes were gloomy, causing the output of hot-rolled coil to decrease by more than 13 per cent.

Domestic businesses face severe cash shortages A lack of capital is making it difficult for businesses to maintain operations.

Positive prognosis for steel sector in 2023 China's reopening will drive worldwide demand for steel, expedite infrastructure construction, and partially offset the stagnating real estate market.