PV Oil completes 81% of full-year profit target in Q1

PV Oil, a subsidiary of state-owned Petrovietnam, reported a sharp surge in first-quarter earnings, achieving 81% of its full-year profit target within the first three months of 2026, driven largely by favorable inventory dynamics.

The fuel distributor (UPCoM: OIL) posted net revenue of over VND44.86 trillion ($1.7 billion) in the January-March period, up 37% year-on-year, according to its latest financial statement. Gross profit rose 1.5 times to over VND2.17 trillion ($82.4 million).

Pre-tax profit jumped more than 16-fold to about VND674 billion ($25.57 million), while net profit surged 22 times to VND572 billion ($21.7 million).

For 2026, PV Oil targets revenue of VND150 trillion ($5.69 billion), broadly flat from last year, and pre-tax profit of VND820 billion ($31.11 million), up more than 25%. After the first quarter, the company has fulfilled 30% of its revenue goal and 81% of its profit plan.

Total assets as of March 31 rose 19.24% to nearly VND55.38 trillion ($2.1 billion), with short-term assets accounting for 81%. Notably, inventories increased fivefold from the start of the year to over VND11.19 trillion ($424.6 million).

Analysts at brokerage ACBS attributed the earnings spike to PV Oil’s ability to capitalize on low-cost inventories as retail fuel prices climbed.

“However, this favorable trend may not persist. Since April, declining fuel prices have started to exert pressure on margins,” ACBS said.

To secure supply, PV Oil said it has worked closely with domestic refineries such as Dung Quat Refinery and Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Complex, while expanding import sourcing. The company is also boosting blending and distribution of biofuels such as E5 and E10.

A potential growth driver is aviation fuel. PV Oil expects to obtain approval to retail Jet A1 fuel at major airports including Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Noi Bai International Airport, and Phu Quoc International Airport this year.

The company is also expanding cooperation with VinFast to deploy EV charging stations, now covering around 600 out of 1,000 fuel stations, while developing integrated highway rest-stop models to improve site-level profitability.

On long-term strategy, PV Oil plans to complete provisioning for its biofuel project in 2026, paving the way for a potential listing transfer from the unlisted public companies market UPCoM to the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) in 2027 to enhance transparency and liquidity of shares.

Despite the strong start, ACBS cautioned that the oil trading business remains highly sensitive to global price fluctuations, meaning earnings could reverse quickly if oil prices continue to decline.

Trên thị trường chứng khoán, kết phiên 29/4, giá cổ phiếu OIL neo ở mốc 14.700 đồng/cổ phiếu, giảm 0,7%.

Shares of PV Oil closed at VND14,700 ($0.56) on April 29, down 0.7%, marking their lowest level in more than three months after a roughly 38% pullback from early March highs.