PetroVietnam Gas Corporation (HoSE: GAS) forecasts its post-tax profit will be halved to VND6.6 trillion in 2020 on expectations oil prices will struggle in 2020. — Photo vietnamdaily.net.vn

HÀ NỘI — The global COVID-19 pandemic and low oil prices will surely impact corporate performance but PetroVietnam Gas will strive to hasten its projects and beat earnings expectations, the firm's CEO Dương Mạnh Sơn said on Tuesday.

Equipment was imported from overseas and foreign experts were needed to operate machines at the projects, the CEO said at the annual shareholders’ meeting.

“The travel restriction policy around the world has made it more difficult for the company to import machines and bring in experts,” he said.

The decline of oil prices, caused by worries about the global recession due to the pandemic, also impacted the firm but its effects were endurable, he added.

When the pandemic was over, PetroVietnam Gas (PV Gas) would ensure projects are completed, business activities remain proper and earnings targets are beaten, Dương said.

In addition, PV Gas would not need to cut the State ownership to 65 per cent of the capital from 95.7 per cent as “the State capital at the firm has been used efficiently,” the general director said.

State capital management at PV Gas has recently been transferred from the Ministry of Industry and Trade to the Committee for Management of State Capital at Enterprises.

The Government and the committee found it unnecessary to sell the State stake at PV Gas, so it would need more time to develop a new divestment plan, Dương said.

In 2019, PV Gas earned VNĐ75 trillion (US$3.2 billion) in revenue, down VNĐ600 billion from the previous year. Its post-tax profit gained 3 per cent year-on-year to VNĐ12 trillion in 2019, beating the full-year target by 58 per cent.

Higher 2019 dividend

Profit growth in 2019 allowed PV Gas to raise its cash dividend payout rate to 45 per cent, higher than the expected rate of 30 per cent. The rate in 2018 was 53 per cent.

PV Gas has a total of 1.913 billion shares, of which 1.895 billion are listed on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE: GAS). The company is expected to pay a total cash dividend of more than VNĐ8.6 trillion for 2019.

In August 2019, PV Gas made the first 2019 dividend payout at a rate of 10 per cent, worth VNĐ1.91 trillion.

In 2020, the company targets total revenue of VNĐ66 trillion, a pre-tax profit of VNĐ8.3 trillion and a post-tax profit of VNĐ6.6 trillion with the oil price expected at $60 a barrel and exchange rate is forecast at VNĐ23,500 for a dollar on average.

The cash dividend rate for 2020 is set at 30 per cent, meaning every shareholder will receive VNĐ3,000 per share. — VNS