Vietnam sugar industry posts bitter-sweet Q2 results

A sharp divide has been in the sugar industry’s Q2 results with some major firms reporting big declines and others enjoying soaring profits.

The firms not doing well have cited increasing loan interest and other expenses while others say they have benefited as anti-subsidy and anti-dumping policies against sugar from Thailand took effect, according to a Ministry of Industry and Trade report.

Lam Son Sugar and TTC Sugar are among those who have reported an after-tax profit plunge, while Quang Ngai Sugar, Son La Sugar and Kon Tum Sugar have seen their Q2 profits soar.

Lam Son Sugar (Lasuco) posted net revenues of VND721 billion ($30 million) and after-tax profits of VND5.2 billion ($216,600) in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2022-2023 (April-June), down 5.9% and 78% year-on-year, respectively.

Lasuco attributed the performance, among other things, to a 25.3% increase in administrative expenses that saw its gross profit go down 31% year-on-year to VND49.6 billion ($2 million).

For the fiscal year, Lasuco, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) as LSS, earned net revenues of VND1.81 trillion ($75.3 million), down 11.4%, and after-tax profits of VND22 billion ($916,500), down 50.6%.

Vietnam’s leading sugar company, Thanh Thanh Cong-Bien Hoa JSC, recorded net revenues of VND6.8 trillion ($283.3 million) in Q4 of fiscal year 2022-2023 (April-June), up 24%; but saw post-tax profit plunge 66% year-on-year to VND76.9 billion ($1.5 million). The company said that the main reason was a sharp increase in interest expenses.

In the fiscal year, TTC Sugar posted net revenues of nearly VND24.75 trillion ($1.03 billion) and after-tax profits of VND610 billion ($25.4 million), up 35% and down 30% respectively.

In contrast, Quang Ngai Sugar JSC reported Q2 net revenues of VND3.15 trillion ($131.3 million), up 43% year-on-year; and after-tax profits of VND712 billion ($29.6 million), up 95%.

In the first half of 2023, the company, listed on the unlisted public company market UPCoM as QNS, posted net revenues of VND5.3 trillion ($220.7 million) and after-tax profit of VND1.03 trillion ($42.8 million), up 31% and 90% respectively.

Meanwhile, Son La Sugar JSC recorded net revenues of VND550 billion ($22.9 million) in Q4 of the fiscal year 2022-2023 (April-June), up 152% and after-tax profits of VND225 billion ($9.4 million), up 261%.

In the fiscal year, the company earned net revenues of over VND1.68 trillion ($69.8 million), up 93% and post-tax profits of VND523 billion ($21.8 million), up 179%.

This record profit was made possible because of a corporate income tax exemption for agricultural product processing activities in Son La province, a locality experiencing extremely difficult socio-economic conditions.

Meanwhile, Kon Tum Sugar JSC reported net revenues of nearly VND289 billion ($12 million) and after-tax profits of VND24 billion ($999,800) in Q4 of the 2022-2023 fiscal year (April-June), up 6 times and 7 times year-on-year, respectively.

For the whole fiscal year, the company posted net revenues of VND548 billion ($22.8 million), up 210%, and after-tax profit of VND38 billion ($1.6 million), up 377%.

In general, from September 2022 onwards, the anti-subsidy and anti-dumping policies for cane sugar originating from Thailand has positively impacted domestic sugar enterprises, the trade ministry report says.

The business picture of the sugar industry in the fiscal year 2022-2023 shows that it is gradually recovering with increased consumption and revenue. However, the recovery is also hampered by the pressure of increased costs, especially interest expenses and corporate management costs.

According to broker Tien Phong Securities, the world sugar price has fluctuated around $520 per ton in 2023 due to a supply shortage caused by adverse weather factors in some sugar-exporting countries such as Brazil, India, Indonesia and Thailand; the Russia-Ukraine conflict; and the trend of increasing bio-alcohol production from sugarcane. In the crop year 2023-2024, the global supply and consumption of sugar is forecast to reach about 178.8 million tons and 178.9 million tons, respectively.

High global sugar prices have had a positive impact on domestic sugar prices and consumption has remained positive. A compound annual growth of around 5% in terms of value is expected in the 2023-2028 period.