As the state-owned enterprise (SOE) that runs the Dung Quat Oil Refinery, the first oil refinery in Vietnam, the Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical JSC (BSR) has reported a post-tax loss of VND2.332 trillion.

Because of the pandemic, the oil and petroleum inventory level increased rapidly. The Brent oil price plummeted by 70 percent from $68.34 per barrel on January 3 to $17.68 per barrel on March 31.

Clients have asked for delivery delays and payment deadline extensions. Skypec informed that it wouldn’t receive Jet A1 from March 13 to the end of April because of the sharp fall in domestic and international flights.

Meanwhile, the crude oil output from White Tiger oil field increased by 2 million in the first five months of the year.

PV Oil also reported a net loss of VND537 billion in Q1 (it made a profit of VND38 billion in Q1 2019), raising the accumulative loss to VND1.2 trillion as of the end of Q1

The Q1 finance reports released by enterprises in nearly all business fields, from manufacturing and real estate to aviation and oil and gas, show big losses. Large enterprises have reported huge losses of trillions of dong.

In the real estate sector, Lideco reported modest profit of VND10 billion, down by 72 percent, because of slow sales.

Hoa Binh Construction and Coteccons, the two big contractors, also reported low profits – VND5.5 billion, z 7-year low, and VND123 billion, a 5-year low, respectively.

While the epidemic ate into the profit of enterprises in many business fields, it helped pharmacy and food companies earn more money. The pork price has been escalating because of the short supply. The herd of pigs has declined since 2019 because of the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak.

In Q1, Vissan saw revenue increasing by 20 percent to VND1.453 trillion and post-tax profit increasing by 19 percent to VND46.4 billion. Dabaco reported the record profit of VND340 billion in Q1, increasing by 17 times compared with the same period last year.

Similarly, Mitraco had revenue of VND93 billion, an increase of 34 percent over Q1 2019. Vilico reported revenue of VND633.4 billion, up by 13 percent.

Regarding pharmacies and drug companies, Hau Giang Pharmacy reported post-tax profit of VND177 billion, up by 31 percent thanks to the higher drug demand during the epidemic. Meanwhile, Imexpharm saw pre-tax profit of VND51 billion, up by 13 percent.

Nguyen Dinh Cung, a respected economist, commented that Vietnam’s enterprises, especially private ones, have high flexibility but low endurance.

Thanh Lich 

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