Vietnam’s Hoa Phat Group intends to place the pending Phase 2 segment of its Hoa Phat Dung Quat Steel Integrated complex into operation before the end of 2020. The complete production line will allow Hoa Phat to reach 3.6mn mt of construction steel.
After nearly 3 years, Hoa Phat Dung Quat Iron and Steel Complex completed phase 1 in late 2019. More than 80pc of the main equipment items for phase 2 were completed by February 2020, with the management expecting to put the segment mill, consisting of two blast furnaces and a flat hot-rolled rolling line in operation by Q2 2020.
However, the implementation was delayed as the COVID-19 pandemic prevented European contractors from traveling to Vietnam to meet the initial timeline. Plans are now being discussed to resume buildout in May or June.
In March 2020, the company achieved a record shipment of 486,000mt in finished steel and steel billet to both local and international markets, it announced while reporting its Q1 2020 earnings. In the same month, Hoa Phat’s construction steel output reached a record of more than 351,000mt, up 42.2pc compared to March 2019.
The group’s revenue increased 28pc to VND14,450bn ($613mn) in Q1 2020 compared to the same quarter last year while profit after tax increased by 27pc to VND2,305bn in Q1 2020 also compared to the same quarter a year ago.
($1=VND23,577.47)