Giant steel maker Hoa Sen Group (HSG) targets revenues of VND23 trillion (US$1 billion) for the fiscal year 2016-17, HSG announced at its annual shareholders’ meeting, in HCM City late last week.

At the meeting, the company also announced its target of an after-tax profit of VND1.65 trillion ($72 million) for 2016-17.

Total sales for 2016-17 will be over 1.57 million tonnes, it said.

For the 2015-16 fiscal year, HSG posted growth of 130 per cent in profit after tax. In detail, the company reported it gained more than VND1.5 trillion ($65 million) in profit after tax.

Meanwhile, revenue increased by 25 per cent over the firm’s initial projection, reaching nearly VND17.9 trillion ($778 million).

Sales grew 22 per cent, reaching over 1.2 million tonnes.

Last year, the company constructed many projects, including the Hoa Sen plant in Nghe An central province, which will be put into operation this year with a capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per year. The plan of expanding Hoa Sen building material project in Ba Ria-Vung Tau was started in March last year and will be finished this month.

2016 also marks a turning point of HSG as it decided to pour money into the real estate market by building Hoa Sen tower in Quy Nhon city in the south central province of Binh Dinh and a trade centre in Yen Bai Province.

At the meeting, HSG decided to pay a dividend by cash of a maximum of 10 per cent per share.

It also said it will issue 3.5 million of shares at the price of VND10,000 per share to their staff this year. After the issue, the total registered capital of HSG will increase to VND3.47 trillion ($151 million).

Chairman Le Phuoc Vu shared with the meeting that the company is restructuring and HSG will set up joint stock companies in regions.

HSG will be the mother company which holds at least 51 per cent of shares in regional companies.

About the Ca Na Steel Plant, Vu said that all procedures between HSG and Ninh Thuan have been done and the company is waiting for the Government’s decision.

He also added that HSG has hired three consultant companies from India to analyse the feasability of the project.

During the meeting, HSG received the award for best managed company in Asia in the metals and mining sector in a 2016 poll of leading equity analysts by Euromoney magazine. — VNS