Steel giant Vnsteel appoints new chairman, general director

Vietnam Steel Corporation (Vnsteel), the country's leading steelmaker, has appointed Le Song Lai, its board member, as chairman.

Nghiem Xuan Da, former deputy general director of the State Capital and Investment Corporation (SCIC), has been chosen to be a board member and general director for the term 2021-2026.

Previously, at the 2023 annual general meeting of shareholders, Vnsteel announced the dismissal of Le Thanh Tuan as board member for the term 2021-2026. Tuan is deputy general director of SCIC.

Vnsteel's largest shareholder is SCIC, with a 93.93% stake. The corporation is listed on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UpCOM) as TVN.

Vnsteel reported an after-tax profit of VND67.9 billion ($2.9 million) in the first quarter of 2023, falling 65% year-on-year. The corporation recorded net revenue of VND8.34 trillion ($355.5 million), down 32%, according to its Q1 consolidated financial statement.

Notably, its joint ventures and associates posted combined losses of VND15.9 billion ($677,600) in the quarter, while in the same period last year they recorded a profit of VND56 billion ($2.39 million).

As of March 31, 2023, Vnsteel's assets had stood at VND24.28 trillion ($1.03 billion), up 4% compared to the beginning of the year. Of which, cash and cash equivalents accounted for VND2.27 trillion ($96.9 million), or 9% of total assets, and inventory hit more than VND5.36 trillion ($228.3 million).

The company's liabilities stood at VND14.33 trillion ($610.6 million), while undistributed after-tax profit at the end of Q1 reached approximately VND2.62 trillion ($111.65 million).

At a conference to review 2022 and deploy tasks for 2023, Vnsteel's deputy general director Le Van Thanh said the steel market had experienced unexpected fluctuations. Prices of energy and raw materials used for steel production like coal, iron ore and scrap steel had increased strongly and suddenly at the start of the year, with some recording record hikes.

"But prices of steel products have dropped quickly, hitting a two-year low. Downturn is the major trend of selling prices from May to the end of last year. These factors had a strong impact on Vnsteel's revenue and profit," Thanh noted.

For 2023, Vnsteel has set a consolidated revenue target of VND35.8 trillion ($1.53 billion) and consolidated pre-tax profit of VND50 billion ($2.13 million).

At the trading session on Monday, TVN shares finished at VND5,800 ($0.25).