Established in 1974, the company has developed from a traditional brick and ceramics manufacturer to becoming a State-owned multi-sector group in building material production, infrastructure development, industrial parks and residential and business properties.
The Ha Noi-based company has 38 subsidiary and affiliate companies nationwide, of which eight are operating in the field of investment and infrastructure, 26 are manufacturing building materials and four are involved in trade and training.
The corporation made its initial public offering in February 2014 of 77 million shares, equivalent to over 25 per cent of its charter capital, but sold only a quarter of those shares. The Ministry of Construction still holds a 91.5 per cent stake in the company.
The ministry has told the corporation to reduce its building material companies to two and divest capital from its other three businesses.
At present, eight subsidiaries are listed on the stock exchange or traded on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM). However, many of them have suffered poor business performances and face the risk of being delisted.
Viglacera Dong Trieu (DTC), Viglacera Thang Long (TLT) and Viglacera Ba Hien (BHV) have all been kicked off the exchange. DTC and TLT moved to the UPCoM, while BVH is now traded on the over-the-counter (OTC) market.
Viglacera Ha Long 1 (HLY), Viglacera Dong Anh (DAC) and Viglacera Tien Son (VIT) have been given warnings by the Ha Noi Stock Exchange.
According to market insiders, profit margins in the construction material sector have fallen to only 5 per cent of turnover, while the domestic industry is still facing difficulties due to oversupply and sluggish growth in the real estate sector.
In 2014, including before and after equitisation, Viglacera earned VND8 trillion ($367 million) in combined revenue and VND454 billion ($20.8 million) in pre-tax profit.
The corporation plans to hike its charter capital to VND3.07 trillion ($140.8 million) this year through a private issue to reduce the State holding from 91.5 per cent to around 75 per cent.
Source : VNS