The Vietnam Steel Corporation (VNSTEEL)’s Deputy Director Nguyen Trong reported that most steelmaking companies turned a profit in the first two quarters of 2017, despite difficulties in March and April.

Trong was speaking at a VNSTEEL review of 2017’s first six months last week, saying though the companies may differ in year on year return, most generated profits.

Some steelmakers reported pre-tax income higher than in the same period in 2016, such as the Thong Nhat Flat Steel JSC with nearly VND45.8 billion (US$2.04 million) or the Vietnam Japan Steel JSC with almost VND20 billion ($891,106) in revenue.

Other companies recorded pre-tax income higher than or equal to the same period last year, such as the VNSTEEL-Thu Duc Steel JSC with estimated revenue of nearly VND30 billion ($1.33 million), the Hochiminh City Metal Corporation with more than VND35 billion ($1.55 million) while the Vinatrans International Freight Forwarders company had VND17 billion ($757,440) in revenue in the first half of this year.

Other companies such as Vnsteel Thang Long, Bien Hoa Steel Joint Stock Company and Vingal Industries Co Ltd also reported to have recorded a profit.

In addition, several subsidiaries of VNSTEEL were profitable, though less so than in the same period in 2016, including Southern Steel Company whose revenue was just 44.6 per cent of last year and the Phu My Flat Steel Company’s at 23.9 per cent compared to 2016.

VNSTEEL’s report showed that in the first half of 2017, the company and its subsidiaries increased co-operation and integration amongst different units in the steelmaking industry to ensure smooth operation from input purchasing to output distribution.

Khoi admitted that there were deficiencies in investment planning across the companies, and incongruence in land and real estate management.

The firm plans to continue focusing on manufacturing and distributing flat steel, steel billet and steel bars in the rest of 2017, while keeping up to date with domestic and international steel markets. — VNS