The figure represented a 7.5 percent increase from 47 trillion VND in 2017.
In the past two years, PetroVietnamleaders have made precise business decisions in the context of falling oilprices. The group has focused on improving management of human resources,finance and investment, promoting production and business activities whileexpanding markets.
By comparison, Samsung Electronics Thai Nguyen, the country’s most lucrativecompany in three consecutive years, made 43.3 trillion VND in profit in 2018, ayear-on-year fall of 30 percent.
PetroVietnam earned 489.5 trillion VND (over 21 billion USD) in revenue in thefirst eight months of the year, exceeding the 8-month target by 19 percent despitedropping prices of crude oil, which fell to 58.62 USD per barrel in Augustcompared to the predicted price of 65 USD per barrel.
In the period, the group contributed 68.9 trillion VND (2.96 billion USD) tothe State budget, surpassing thte 8-month plan by 14 percent and accounting for78.8 percent of the yearly target.
The group also fulfilled its production targets. Particularly, PetroVietnam CaMau Fertiliser Joint Stock Company began its contract to export 47,500 tonnesof fertiliser to India in August.
To complete the yearly plan,PetroVietnam said it would keep a close watch on the fluctuations of global oilprices, improve market forecasting and reasonably adjust output for export andprocessing to ensure the nation’s GDP growth target, national security andbudget collection.
Along with applying advanced technologies to improve business activities, thegroup will carry out financial solutions to timely respond to the variation ofglobal oil prices.
Thanks to the group’s effective operation and healthy financial situation, PetroVietnamhas received good evaluation from international credit organisations.
Most recently, Fitch Ratings gave thegroup a 'BB' with a positive outlook in first-time long-term foreign-currencyissuer default rating (IDR).
The agency has also assigned PetroVietnam a senior unsecured rating of 'BB' andstandalone credit profile (SCP) at 'bb ', reflecting the company's high degreeof integration, diversification and conservative financial profile.
In the statement, Fitch highlights the robust State linkages with PetroVietnam.PetroVietnam's annual targets are set and approved by Vietnamese Government andits management is State-appointed. PetroVietnam is also Vietnam's national oilcompany and benefits from exclusive rights to the country’s oil and gasreserves by regulation. Fitch regards the support record as 'Strong'.
Fitch assesses the socio-political implications of a PetroVietnam default as'Very Strong'. Any disruptions in PetroVietnam's operations would have materialimplications for the entire energy value chain in Vietnam.
PetroVietnam General Director Le Manh Hung said the ratings will serve as afoundation for the group to review and improve its corporate administration inthe coming time, especially financial targets.
Nirukt Sapru, Standard Chartered Bank’s Chief Executive Officer of the Vietnam,ASEAN, and South Asia Cluster Markets, said the ratings assigned toPetroVietnam will help the company attract more foreign investors, pledgingthat Standard Chartered will support PetroVietnam to realise its growthtargets.
PetroVietnam holds interests in all of Vietnam's upstream oil and gas assets,accounts for about a third of the country's refined product output, andsupplies gas for power plants which make up about 15 percent of the country'spower generation. PetroVietnam also accounts for about 80 percent of Vietnam'sfertiliser production.
PetroVietnam's investment is projected to rise significantly to 321 trillionVND (13.95 billion USD) over the next five years, from 38 trillion VND lastyear. PetroVietnam estimates over half of its expected consolidated CapEx andinvestment will be used to develop its upstream resources, mainly gas fields/.