IMP – Update on its 4M Business Result

IMP’s target revenue of VND1,260 billion relies heavily on the robust growth of the company's ETC channel. The growth rate is based on the high expectation for three EU-GMP lines in Binh Duong. Thus, the fact that the company has only completed 16% of the ETC target so far may worry many investors. However, we believe IMP’s business will improve significantly during the remainder of 2017 because many large bids of ETC channel take place in the second half of 2017.

SHP – Quick Update on its Business Performance in the First Four Months of 2017

The electricity output of Southern Hydropower JSC (SHP - HSX) in the first four months of 2017 witnessed a strong recovery, with production output reaching 89 million kWh (+89% YoY), corresponding to total revenue of VND103 billion (+87% YoY). Among SHP’s three plants, Da Dang 2 had the highest output growth at 153% YoY while the output of Da Siat and Da M’Bri also grew impressively at 74% YoY and 61% YoY respectively. Such positive results can be attributable to the favorable hydrological conditions with the impact from La Nina, and SHP proactively saving water in the reservoir of Da M'Bri plant in December 2016. Meanwhile, the average selling price in the first four months only fell slightly by 16 dong/kWh to 1,158 dong/kWh.

Oil & Gas – Q1 2017 Business Results of Companies in the Industry (Part 2)

Due to the decline of oil prices this quarter, following the rise of 2016, the future prospects of oil & gas companies have not experienced any clear improvement. Accordingly, the up-stream and construction segments are suffering from the negative impacts of low oil price. In contrast, distribution companies in the down-stream segment have demonstrated strong resilience with stable earnings over the last few quarters.

HSG- Opportunities to Surpass FY2016-2017 Guidance

HSG, a major participant in the domestic steel industry, is displaying its sufficient expansion capability, in terms of production and sales. The company's new plant and multiple new retailers have brought growth in its volume, revenue, and profit during the first two quarters of FY’16-17. Noticeably, HSG and other coated steel producers have been waiting for the determination of the investigation on imported color-coated steel sheets, which is going to be announced in the near future.

Oil & Gas – Q1 2017 Business Results of Companies in the Industry (Part 1)

Due to the decline of oil prices this quarter, following the rise of 2016, the future prospects of oil & gas companies have not experienced any clear improvement. Accordingly, the up-stream and construction segments are suffering from the negative impacts of low oil price. In contrast, distribution companies in the down-stream segment have demonstrated strong resilience with stable earnings over the last few quarters.

PGI - Q1 2017 Results Updates

In Q1 2017, the total gross premium of PGI was VND593 billion, up only 1.89% YoY. Thanks to the decrease in premium reserves, its net inward premium increased 6.69% YoY, equivalent to VND478 billion. Motor vehicle insurance accounted for 44% of this, followed by hull and P&I at 13% while the next two positions were personal health & accident (11%) and the cargo segment (11%).

Real Estate sector: Q1/2017 Business Results Update

In the first four months of 2017, real estate stocks such as SCR, PDR, NLG, DXG, DIG, TDH, NBB and LDG performed strongly. The rally of real estate stocks reflects the positive expectations from investors for these companies this year. Following the soar of consumption patterns after 2015, real estate handovers will begin in late 2016 and peak in 2017-2018. The period of the handover of houses is also the period of recognition of revenue and profit from these projects under Circular 200.

Phu Tai Corp. (HSX-PTB): Latest Highlights on its Investment Plans

We think that PTB’s stock price has witnessed a 12% pullback since the middle of March due to two main reasons: (1) lower than expected earnings growth in the first quarter; (2) 720,000 ESOP shares were traded at the end of April. However, the long-term prospects of this company remain positive. The company’s recent M&A deal could bring two new quarries for PTB, and its other investment plans are going as planned. Currently, we maintain our BUY recommendation for PTB with upside of 22%.

PVT – Stock Price Affected by Negative Sentiment of the Oil and Gas industry

Despite the weak recovery in global oil prices, PetroVietnam Transportation JSC (PVT-HSX) recorded rather impressive Q1 2017 results, with revenue and PAT (after minority) growing 7.8% and 44% YoY, respectively. Its main business pillar, oil & gas shipping (makes up 60-70% GP) saw revenue rise by 16%YoY, while its GPM expended 3 percentage points compared to the corresponding quarter. These results were attributed to PVT’s Dung Quat refinery client increasing its production to make up for a 52 day periodic maintenance scheduled from the 6^th of June. On the other hand, the margin expansion is the result of the company’s recent efforts to keep its operation costs in check and improve its effectiveness. Meanwhile, FSO and O&M services posted quite similar results to the same period last year.

Oil & Gas – No Breakthrough for Oil Price in Q2 2017

After strong surge of oil price to over USD 55/barrel for Brent, sideways movement or downward adjustment have been the usual sights over the last few months for global crude price. Explain this situation, RongViet Research believes that opposite effects on global market created the cautious and negative sentiment, leading to the pressure on oil price. Regarding of future prospects, we project oil price to maintain the current situation until the end of Q2 2017 and hover around USD 52/barrel. For long-term, USD 60/barrel is the expectation for the end of 2017.

A Rewind of Foreign Investors' Trading Activities in April

After the first four months of this year, off-shore investors have accumulated VND5,863 billion, a high level in recent years. This figure can be higher because Pakistan will be reclassified aas an emerging market this May.  The transition of Pakistan will leave a gap in MSCI Frontier Markets. We think the gap will be quickly filled by other frontier markets including Vietnam. There is around USD15 billion AUM (18% of Vietnam market cap) tracking MSCI FM.

DQC – A Tough Year Ahead

DQC’s stock price has plummet 44% from the all-time high VND84,700/share in July of 2016. Based on its 2017 target profit, we estimated the stock’s forward P/E to be 13.6x, much higher than the 9x P/E of its peer RAL. This is probably the explanation for the price movement of these stocks recently.