Twenty-two companies have entered the “one-trillion-dong profit club” in Vietnam for January-March, despite the economy being ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Leading the group is steelmaker Hoa Phat Group (HPG), replacing the former champion of the first quarter of last year – residential real estate firm Vinhomes JSC (VHM).
Hoa Phat Group (HPG), for the first time, surpassed many other local large corporations such as Vinhomes (VHM), Vietcombank (VCB) and VietinBank (CTG) with more than seven trillion dong ($302.9 million) in post-tax profit in the first quarter of 2021, tripling the profit achieved in the first quarter of last year.
This is also the seventh consecutive quarter that Hoa Phat has witnessed profit growth compared to the previous quarter. HPG share prices have also increased strongly by 52 per cent since the beginning of 2021.
Hoa Phat was followed by Vietcombank (VCB) and VietinBank (CTG). Vinhomes, after many quarters of being in the top position, suddenly slid to fourth place with 5.48 trillion dong in post-tax profit, down 28 per cent year-on-year.
Banks still accounted for the largest proportion in the club. From the first quarter of this year, the banking sector contributed 12 names. Many of them didn’t appear in the first quarter of last year.
In the banking group, the winner of the first quarter of this year was Vietcombank (VCB) with more than 6.9 trillion dong in post-tax profit, climbing over 65 per cent compared to January-March last year.
VietinBank (CTG) ranked second in the banking group with 6.47 trillion dong in post-tax profit, up 169 per cent year-on-year. TechcomBank ranked third with 4.48 trillion dong, more than doubling the figure of the same period last year.
Compared to the first quarter of last year, there were four new banks joining the “one-trillion-dong profit club”, including Vietnam International Bank (VIB) with 1.45 trillion dong in profit after tax, an increase of 68 per cent year-on-year, and Saigon-Hanoi Bank (SHB) with 1.33 trillion dong in post-tax profit, an increase of 116 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2020.
TienphongBank (TPB) reported a 40.6 per cent increase in profit, reaching 1.14 trillion dong. Ocean Bank (OCB) reported 1.01 trillion dong, while in the same period last year, after-tax profit was 886 billion dong.
In terms of ordinal numbers, the first quarter of this year witnessed many changes in the banking group.
VietcomBank still maintained the first position, but the second position was taken by Vietinbank (CTG) this year after Techcombank (TCB) held it last year.
Despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the banking sector saw strong growth in profits, of which the strongest increase belonged to ViettinBank (CTG) with a growth rate of 169 per cent. It was followed by Saigon-Hanoi Bank (SHB) with 116 per cent and Military Bank (MBB) with 100 per cent.
On the stock market, Techcombank (TCB) shares rose 49 per cent from the beginning of the year, VPBank (VPB) increased 89 per cent, VIBank (VIB) gained 81 per cent, Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) rose 28 per cent and Saigoin-Hanoi Bank (SHB) was up 58 per cent.
There were also other familiar names that were regularly present in this prestigious club, including dairy company Vinamilk (VNM) with nearly 2.6 trillion dong in after-tax profit, down six per cent year-on-year, PVGas (GAS) recording a profit after tax of more than two trillion dong, down 12 per cent compared to last year.
Information technology company FPT and mobile retailer Mobile World Group (MWG) also joined the club. MWG gained 1.3 trillion dong in after-tax profit, up 18 per cent year-on-year, while FPT reported a profit of 1.15 trillion dong, up 23 per cent.
The rubber industry witnessed the participation of one member – the Vietnam Rubber Group (GVR) with 1.21 trillion dong of post-tax profit, 3.6 times higher than the profit achieved in the first quarter of last year.
Engine and Construction Machinery Corporation (VEAM) announced a profit of 1.45 trillion dong, up nine per cent. Most of VEAM's profits come from its associates.
Binh Son Petrochemical Refinery (BSR) was among the most notable names. While it reported a loss of more than 2.35 trillion dong in the first quarter last year, it earned a profit of 1.85 trillion dong in the first quarter this year. This was also the fifth quarter in a row that Binh Son Refinery’s profit grew compared to the previous quarters.
VIET NAM NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
