Hoa Phat Group’s business performance improves

HCMC – Local steelmaker Hoa Phat Group, whose HPG shares are traded on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange, has reported net profit of over VND1.4 trillion for the second quarter.

According to its second-quarter earnings report, the steelmaker’s revenue stood at nearly VND30 trillion, down by more than 20% year-on-year. Its net profit for the quarter was VND1.45 trillion, down 64%.

Despite a steep decline of more than 60% compared to the same period last year, the profit was almost 3.8 times higher than that of the first quarter

The company cited difficulties in the real estate market and slow capital disbursement of public investment, leading to a contraction in steel demand as the primary reasons for the fall. However, Hoa Phat’s performance showed signs of improvement compared to the previous quarter, indicating a potential turnaround.

In a span of six months, the company recorded total revenue of around VND56.7 trillion, which dropped over 30% against the first half of 2022. Its profit after tax from January to June decreased by 15% against the same period last year, amounting to VND1.8 trillion.

As market demand remains weak both domestically and internationally, Hoa Phat’s crude steel production fell by 34% in this period, reaching 2.86 million tons. The sales volume of construction steel, steel billets, and hot-rolled coils also declined by 27% at 2.9 million tons.

Its HPG shares reported a high trading volume during the session today, July 31, becoming the second most actively traded stock with more than 45.5 million shares matched. However, they inched down 0.35% versus the previous session to VND28,200 per share.

The Hochiminh Stock Exchange saw 304 winners and 172 losers, sending the VN-Index soaring 15.23 points, or up 1.26%, to reach 1,222.9 points.

Trading volume exceeded 1.2 billion shares, valued at VND24.1 trillion, representing an 8.1% increase in volume and a 9.92% rise in value compared to the session earlier. Block deals contributed nearly VND1.7 trillion to the overall value, with 81.9 million shares changing hands.

The VN30 basket remained the primary market driver, with 24 stocks advancing and only six others declining. The VN30-Index outperformed the main index, climbing 18 points to 1,230.81 points, powered by impressive gains of VIC and VHM. Both blue-chip stocks shot up to their daily upper limit, reaching VND55,100 and VND63,000, with 10.56 million shares and 5.47 million shares traded, respectively.

Several other blue-chip stocks also performed well in the market. VJC surged 4.3%, BCM edged up 3.8%, PLX rose 3.6%, GAS increased 2.1%, and FPT gained 1.4%.

Among decliners, MWG and VCB suffered the deepest losses, both falling by 1.5%, while PDR, HPG, SSI, and SAB experienced mild declines by 0.1% to 0.7%.

Real estate stocks, led by VIC and VHM, exhibited an impressive uptrend. Numerous mid- and small-cap stocks extended their gains.

Housing developer NVL finished the day at its intraday high of 2.7% to VND18,850 per share, with the highest trading volume on the bourse of over 56.51 million shares traded.

DIG and DXG also rebounded, with each having over 30 million shares traded. TCH rose by 5.8%, HPX by 5.2%, and HBC continued to hit its daily price ceiling.

Securities stocks showed a slight upward movement compared to the morning session, though the influential pair SSI and HCM closed with marginal losses. However, VND and VIX stood out, rising 2.5% to VND20,800 per share with a volume of 35.2 million shares, and surging 3.3% to VND15,700 per share with 28.97 million shares traded, respectively.

Among bank stocks, VCB was the only major stock to decline while others closed in positive territory with gains mostly below 1%. Notable performers included EIB, which rose 2.93%, and ACB, which saw a 3.38% increase. STB was the most actively traded stock in the sector, with nearly 21.2 million shares traded and a modest 1% gain.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, 110 stocks advanced and 70 others declined, resulting in the HNX-Index rising 2.02 points, or 0.85%, at 239.55 points.

There were 114.84 million shares valued at VND1.8 trillion being transacted on the northern market today.

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