Operator of Vietnam’s first oil refinery sees 2023 profit drop 42% to $348 mln

Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical JSC (BSR), the operator of the first oil refinery in Vietnam – Dung Quat, reported a consolidated net profit of VND8.51 trillion ($348.5 million) in 2023, down 42.2% year-on-year.

The firm booked revenue of VND147.42 trillion ($6.04 billion) last year, down 11.8% year-on-year, according to its consolidated financial statement.

Higher financial, sales, and management costs were all factors behind the decrease in earnings.

Compared to its 2023 business plan revised in January, BSR beat its net profit and revenue targets by 74.8% and 1.6%, respectively.

In the fourth quarter last year, BSR earned a net profit of VND2.28 trillion ($93.3 million) on revenue of VND41.93 trillion, up 28.47% and 3.78% year-on-year, respectively.

As of end-2023, BSR had total assets of VND86.45 trillion ($3.54 billion), up 10% from a year earlier. Its cash and cash equivalents dropped 25.6% year-on-year.

The refinery churned out 7.36 million tons of products last year, the largest volume since its commercial operation.

For 2024, the firm aims to earn a net profit of VND1.15 trillion ($47 million) on revenue of VND95.27 trillion ($3.9 billion). It also plans to resume a scheme to list its shares on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange.

BSR plans an output of 5.73 million tons of all products this year, including 2.28 million tons of diesel oil, 1.73 million tons of RON 95 gasoline, 588,013 tons of RON 91/92 gasoline, 134,485 tons of polypropylene, and 382,703 tons of LPG.

Dung Quat, located in Quang Ngai province, is one of the two operational oil refineries in Vietnam. The other is Nghi Son in Thanh Hoa province. In December 2023, the Long Son Petrochemicals Complex (LSP) started a full trial run, aiming at commercial operations in March this year.