PV Shipyard stages tentative comeback after years of losses

PetroVietnam Marine Shipyard JSC (PV Shipyard) has returned to profitability for a second consecutive year after nearly a decade of losses, marking early progress in its restructuring efforts, although heavy legacy losses and debt continue to cloud its recovery.

Financial statements for Q4/2025 showed the company (UPCoM: PVY), posting net revenue of VND1.29 trillion ($49.26 million) for the full year, up 21.3% from a year earlier.

PV Shipyard reported a pre-tax profit of VND8.8 billion ($336,000) in 2025, its second straight year in the black after earning a modest VND177 million ($6,760) in 2024. The return to profit followed eight consecutive loss-making years.

Most of the 2025 profit came from other income, amounting to nearly VND5.3 billion, but analysts said the result still signalled tangible improvement given the company’s prolonged financial distress.

The improved performance has been cited as evidence that restructuring measures are beginning to take effect. During 2025, PV Shipyard replaced two board members and appointed two new board members, including former CEO Truong Duy Lam.

Two of the company’s six board members are representatives of PetroVietnam Technical Services Corp (PVS), PV Shipyard’s largest shareholder with a 28.75% stake. Although PVS does not hold a controlling interest, it has played a key role in supporting the restructuring by allocating projects to the shipyard. These include Transition Piece (TP) and jacket fabrication projects, as well as offshore substation (OSS) works such as Baltica 2 and Fengmiao 1 for PVS clients.

Investors are increasingly optimistic that PV Shipyard could benefit from a broader upturn in Vietnam’s oil and gas sector. A government resolution issued in October 2025 granting state giant Petrovietnam greater authority in approving certain oil and gas activities is expected to accelerate domestic exploration and production (E&P).

Analysts at broker Vietcap forecast domestic E&P spending in 2026 to rise by about 60% year-on-year, driven largely by continued disbursement for the Block B gas project, potentially translating into more work for PV Shipyard via PVS.

Firm oil prices are also expected to support upstream activity, improving the outlook for companies tied to offshore construction and fabrication.

On the back of these expectations, PVY shares surged to their daily limit of VND2,100 ($0.08) last Friday, with trading volume jumping nearly 18-fold from the previous session. The stock is subject to trading restrictions and is only traded on Fridays.

Heavy legacy burdens

Despite the recent turnaround, PV Shipyard continues to face severe financial headwinds.

As of the end of 2025, the company had accumulated losses of more than VND1.09 trillion ($41.62 million), leaving equity negative at VND493 billion ($18.83 million). Short-term liabilities also exceeded short-term assets, raising concerns about its ability to continue as a going concern.

While the company said it expects cash flow from recovering receivables and executing signed and future contracts, its auditor said it was unable to obtain sufficient evidence to support those plans. As a result, the auditor declined to issue an opinion on the company’s reviewed mid-year 2025 financial statements.

PV Shipyard is also burdened by a long-standing entrusted loan of nearly VND597 billion ($22.8 million) managed by PVcomBank, which generates annual financial expenses of more than VND60 billion. The loan has weighed heavily on cash flow and constrained the company’s recovery.

The firm has proposed that shareholders seek support from Petrovietnam to write off or waive interest and extend the principal repayment period by another 10 years, easing financial pressure and enabling investment in future projects, particularly in renewable energy.

Additional risks include the potential obligation to pay more than VND400 billion ($15.27 million) in land rental taxes for nearly 40 hectares leased at the Sao Mai-Ben Dinh oil and gas service port since 2007, as well as uncertainty over recovering a VND58.4 billion bad debt from Amecc Construction Mechanical JSC.

Weak financial capacity has left PV Shipyard unable to secure bank financing or performance guarantees, limiting its ability to bid for domestic EPC contracts and forcing it to rely on low-margin subcontracting work.

Analysts say these unresolved issues remain major obstacles on the long road to reviving the nearly 19-year-old shipyard.