Hoa Sen Group's employee checking products in a warehouse. The company's profit after tax rose over 200 per cent year-on-year in Q1. Photo hoasengroup.vn

HÀ NỘI — The surge in prices of steel since the beginning of 2021 helped many steel producers record good performance in the first quarter. 

Rebar futures contracts, trading on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, increased sharply due to supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The most traded May rebar contract climbed 17.4 per cent this year and traded at 5,101 yuan per ton. The rebar price rose 51 per cent compared to April 2020. 

In its first quarter finance result, Hoa Sen Group (HSG) posted an increase of nearly 382 per cent year-on-year in net revenue to VNĐ9.1 trillion, leading to a rise of 215.8 per cent in profit after tax to VNĐ572 billion. 

HSG said that the gain was mainly driven by increases in net revenue and falls in financial expenses, dropping nearly 30 per cent in the first quarter. 

Hồ Chí Minh City Metal Corporation (HMC) also witnessed strong growth in business results during this period with its revenue rising 40.4 per cent over the same period of 2020 to over VNĐ1.1 trillion. 

The company's profit after tax gained over 10 times compared to last year to VNĐ64.7 billion, marking the highest quarterly profit since it was founded. 

In the financial report, HMCl said that the main reasons for the company's outstanding performance were gains in sales and higher steel price. 

The company will hold its annual general meeting on April 26. In a report prepared for the meeting, HMC set this year's target of VNĐ3.45 trillion in revenue, down 5% year-on-year, with profit after tax increasing 16 per cent to VNĐ44 billion. 

Another steel producer posting good results in the first quarter was Thủ Đức Steel JSC (TDS).

The quarterly financial report showed that the company's net revenue rose 22.7 per cent year-on-year to VNĐ601.6 billion. Its profit after tax also posted a gain of 45.5 per cent to over VNĐ12.8 billion. 

According to TDS, its steel consumption increased to over 1,760 tonnes in the last quarter while the steel price continued to rally.

The sharply decline in financial expenses also supported TDS' business results. The fees slid nearly 76 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter. 

In 2021, TDS is expected to reach VNĐ20 billion in profit before tax. 

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), HSG and HMC closed higher on Monday, up 5.86 per cent and 6.91 per cent, respectively. 

TDS, which trades on UPCOM, also opened the new week on a positive note. The TDS shares increased 14.62 per cent to VNĐ24,300. — VNS