Cement producer Vicem profits down to record low

Its profits were down 30% from 2021, while revenues rose by 17% to VND39.45 trillion.

It sold nearly 27.5 million tons of cement, a 6.7% fall from 2021, mostly because of a decline in exports.

“The difficulties that arose from the Russia-Ukraine crisis and unpredictable market fluctuations have caused major negative impacts,” a company spokesperson said at a recent event.

Its costs increased by VND4 trillion last year due to the soaring prices of raw materials such as coal.

The company did hike cement retail prices but could not prevent the sharp fall in profits.

For 2023 it has a revenue target of VND40.92 trillion, up 4%.

The company has never reported a loss since it started publishing its earnings in 2015.

Industry insiders expect 2023 to be another difficult year for cement producers since demand is set to recover slowly as property developers struggle to mobilize funding and costs are likely to remain high.

But the resumption of exports to China as the country lifts Covid-19 restrictions promises to boost revenues.

China has been the biggest cement export market for Vietnam since 2018, and accounted for 54% of all exports in 2021.