Vietnam’s steelmaker HSG pivots to building materials retail amid gloomy industry outlook

Hoa Sen Group (HoSE: HSG), a leading manufacturer and exporter of steel sheets in Vietnam, plans to shift its focus to a furniture and building materials retail chain amid challenging industry conditions.

With this strategy, HSG aims to make its retail chain the largest of its kind in Vietnam, chairman Le Phuoc Vu stated at the company’s AGM for the 2024-2025 fiscal year on Tuesday.

Explaining the decision, Vu noted that the company faces export difficulties in the U.S., India, and Malaysia due to tariffs, while shipments to Europe are limited to 10,000-15,000 tons per month under new quotas.

Additionally, weak domestic demand and an oversupply in the market are expected to keep the steel and corrugated iron industry stagnant or in decline.

To drive growth for the export-dependent HSG, the company will expand its retail chain and open flagship stores to assess market demand. Vu emphasized that this is the optimal time for the group to pivot its business strategy.

To execute this plan, the company will establish Hoa Sen Home JSC to manage the retail chain, with HSG holding a 99% stake. After five years of operation, HSG intends to transfer its distribution system to Hoa Sen Home before considering the right timing to float shares and go public.

Regarding its plastics business, HSG plans to reduce its ownership stake to reallocate resources to Hoa Sen Home, as the plastics segment has limited growth potential.

For other investments, the company intends to allocate up to VND5 trillion ($196 million) for real estate development, starting with urban projects spanning 600-700 hectares, Vu said.

The steel player also intends to buy back 50-100 million shares, leveraging its positive cash flow of VND1.4-1.5 trillion ($54.85–$58.77 million) to benefit shareholders, the executive added.

Hoa Sen will buy back shares if their price falls below the book value of VND18,000 ($0.71) per share but will refrain from repurchasing if the price rises above that level.

For its business outlook, HSG has proposed two net profit scenarios for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, at VND400-500 billion ($15.67-19.59 million), down from VND515 billion ($20.18 million) recorded in 2024. Vu revealed that the company has already achieved 50% of this target.