Numerous stocks facing exit from exchange

Following the third year of losses, the SII share of Saigon Water Infrastructure JSC has just received a notice from the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HSX) on the risk of delisting its shares. If the audited financial statements confirm the losses as announced in the company's financial statements, SII will leave HSX.

Despite benefiting from an increase in the price of domestic water in early 2022, SII's full-year net revenue only rose by nearly 11 per cent compared to the previous year, which was not sufficient to offset the growth in business costs.

Nguyen Van Thanh, general director of SII, said that interest expenses and the depreciation of fixed assets were still high, although they have decreased significantly on-year. The plan to divest capital from enterprises has not been carried out yet, so it cannot contribute additional income to the company. The business recorded a consolidated net loss of more than $3.74 million in 2022. By the end of last year, undistributed after-tax profit on the consolidated financial statements decreased to $2.56 million and the parent company reported an accumulated loss of nearly $1.26 million.

Hoi An Tourist Service JSC has also continuously suffered losses over the last three years. Its net loss in 2022 was more than $826,000, following losses of $913,000 in 2021 and $1.08 million in 2020.

By the end of 2022, accumulated losses had risen to $2.8 million, eroding more than 80 per cent of the company's modest charter capital of $3.5 million.

Along with these businesses, the stock of Vietnam Airlines was also removed from the exchange when the airline entered the third year of loss-making business. MCG Energy & Real Estate, Kim Vi Stainless Steel Commercial Producing, Hoang Ha, and Erection Mechanical are all facing the same situation.

In 2022, the proportion of businesses on the stock exchanges reporting losses reached more than 15 per cent, slightly higher than the figure in 2021. If post-audit reports for 2022 confirm the expected losses, numerous stocks will be removed and become ineligible for margin lending.

Steel companies witnessed hardships in the fourth quarter of 2022 with many big players suffering losses.

The 2022 fourth-quarter financial statements show Vietnam's five largest steel producers lost a combined total of more than $152 million due to declining prices and demand.