Steel giant Hoa Phat plans charter capital hike to $2.5 bln via share issuance

Vietnam’s leading steelmaker Hoa Phat will issue nearly 581.5 million shares to existing shareholders at a rate of 10%, raising its charter capital from VND58.15 trillion to VND64 trillion ($2.51 billion).

Hoa Phat, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange as HPG, has announced May 24 will be the last registration date to exercise the right to buy these shares.

After the issuance, the firm will have a total of nearly 6.4 billion floating shares.

At its AGM on April 11, Hoa Phat approved a business plan for 2024, targeting a net profit of VND10 trillion ($401 million) and revenue of VND140 trillion, up 47% and 18% against 2023.

Regarding the profit distribution plan, out of the VND6.8 trillion ($267.14 million) in 2023 after-tax profit, the firm will inject VND408 billion ($16 million) into its funds and will not pay cash dividends, said CEO Nguyen Viet Thang.

He said the company is set to produce more hot-rolled coil (HRC) by the year-end, with a full designed capacity of 2.7 million tons per year at the Dung Quat 2 mill, next to the Dung Quat 1 mill in the eponymous economic zone in the central province of Quang Ngai.

With the Dung Quat 2 mill in place, the company will see revenue up to VND200 trillion ($8 billion) per year, thus raising the firm's steel contributions to 95% of its total revenue, up from 85-90% in recent years, he added.

In the first four months of this year, Hoa Phat's sales of construction steel, HRC and steel billets reached 2.65 million tons, up 47% from the same period last year. Steel pipe and galvanized steel sheet production hit 201,000 tons and 146,000 tons, down 4% but up 43% year-on-year, respectively.

On the stock market, HPG closed the Friday session at VND30,450 ($1.2) per share.