Hoa Phat Has Reopened All 7 Blast Furnaces
Steel NewsDate: 20-02-2024 by: Nhu Quynh
Currently, Hoa Phat owns 7 blast furnaces for steelmaking, including 4 furnaces in Dung Quat and 3 furnaces in Hai Duong. With a crude steel production capacity of 8.5 million tons per year, Hoa Phat is currently the leading steel production enterprise in Vietnam.
According to information from Hoa Phat Group (HPG), in the fourth quarter of 2023, the group recorded consolidated revenue of VND 34,925 billion, an increase of 33% over the same period. Profit after tax recorded 2,969 billion VND, up 48% over the previous quarter and up 249% over the same period.
Specifically, Hoa Phat supplied more than 2.1 million tons of crude steel to the market in the fourth quarter, an increase of 30% compared to the previous quarter. The consumption of construction steel products alone during this period reached 1.2 million tons and HRC reached 813,000 tons.
Currently, the optimism of the steel market in the fourth quarter of 2023 has been reflected in Hoa Phat's inventory structure, where the proportion of finished products in inventory decreased to the lowest level since the second quarter of 2022. With consumption output gradually improving, both the value and proportion of raw materials in inventory have increased compared to previous quarters. However, this business said that raw material turnover has not returned to the level of around 3 months like in 2021 but continues to tighten at 2 months (62 days).
Hoa Phat's leadership said that although the total steel consumption in 2023 is lower than the previous year, in terms of trend, the group's steel business picture has gradually brightened as output tends to grow over the past year, reaching its best level in the fourth quarter of 2023, recorded in both domestic and export markets. For the construction steel market, according to Hoa Phat, optimistic signals come from policies to remove difficulties and promote public investment, especially in the field of transport infrastructure. Regarding export markets, this business has continued to diversify its consumer markets by expanding to 39 countries and territories worldwide. Export output will continue to increase in 2024.
Previously, in October 2023, Hoa Phat stopped operating a blast furnace at Hai Duong Iron and Steel Complex for maintenance and preparation for new production batches in 2024. Recently, Hoa Phat said that since all blast furnaces at all complexes in Dung Quat and Hai Duong have been re-operated, the raw materials needed to prepare for production have therefore also increased accordingly. Currently, Hoa Phat Hai Duong Iron and Steel Complex has 3 furnaces with a total capacity of 2.5 million tons and 4 furnaces at Hoa Phat Dung Quat with a capacity of 5.6 million tons per year.
