The State Bank Inspectorate has just announced inspection conclusions for many enterprises and gold-elling banks, thereby pointing out many serious violations related to transaction processes, tax declaration, anti-money laundering... Some units were administratively fined up to billions of VND, and even had their files transferred to the police agency for further investigation according to the law.
In the context of the continuous fluctuations in gold prices recently, the business activities of enterprises in the industry have also clearly differentiated. Some units recorded sudden profit growth, while many businesses had to restructure core business segments to cope with difficulties from the market and raw material supply.
PNJ's revenue drops due to a slump in 24K gold revenue
In the first quarter of 2025, Phu Nhuan Jewelry Joint Stock Company (code PNJ) recorded a consolidated net revenue of VND 9,635 billion, down sharply by 23.5% over the same period last year.
The business said the reason for the purchasing power of the jewelry market weakened due to increasing gold prices, consumer demand decreased. In addition, the plunge of 24K gold revenue - reduced by nearly 66% due to the interrupted supply of raw materials from the second half of 2024. Before this situation, PNJ has actively restructured resources, focusing on jewelry - core fields of the company.
Thanks to the strategic change, retail jewelry revenue increased by 6% and retail jewelry increased by 22.8% over the same period, accounting for about VND1,156 billion, equivalent to 12% of total revenue. The proportion of retail jewelry revenue reached 69.3%, a sharp increase compared to 50.5% in the first quarter of 2024.
This shift helped PNJ's gross profit margin increase sharply to 21.3%, from 17.1% in the same period. The net profit margin reached 7.0%, although slightly decreased compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, it was still significantly higher than the first three quarters of the previous year. Profit after tax reached VND 678 billion, down more than 8% compared to the first quarter of 2024 - a moderate decrease in the context of declining revenue.
SJC records interest in 2024
The audited financial report for 2024 of Saigon Jewelry Company Limited (SJC) shows that net revenue for the whole year reached more than VND 32,190 billion, an increase of about 13% compared to 2023. Meanwhile, after-tax profit reached VND 283 billion, 4.6 times higher than last year and far exceeding the set plan of VND 70 billion. Gross profit margin increased sharply to nearly 2% (compared to 1% last year), helping gross profit reach more than 685 billion VND.
As of December 31, 2024, SJC's total assets reached VND 2,097.6 billion, up 10.4% over the beginning of the year. Of which, inventory is up to VND 1,483 billion - accounting for more than 70% of total assets. Notably, the company has set aside more than 103.6 billion VND to reserve for inventory reduction due to the characteristics of the industry.
However, the 2024 auditing financial statements have an opinion except for the audit unit. Accordingly, the auditor said that it was impossible to determine the rationality of the provision of inventory discount due to SJC self -assessing the recovery value of gold and female jewelry at the end of the year.
This year, SJC plans to recycle more than 20,000 taels of gold, while boosting the jewelry segment with the expected sale of more than 503,000 items - an increase of about 13% compared to 2024.
Eximbank faces increased bad debt pressure
Meanwhile, Vietnam Export-Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Eximbank, EIB code) recorded positive results in the first quarter of 2025 with total operating income exceeding VND1,800 billion, up 14.6% over the same period last year. Net interest income continues to be the main source of income, reaching VND 1,354 billion.
Non-profit activities have also undergone strong improvements, demonstrating the effectiveness of the revenue diversification strategy that the bank is pursuing.
In particular, net profit from foreign exchange trading activities increased sharply by 141% over the same period, reaching 201.1 billion VND. Banking services contributed 146 billion VND, up 32.2%, while net profit from other activities also increased to 109 billion VND.
By the end of the first quarter of 2025, Eximbank's total assets reached VND251,133 billion, up 4.74% over the beginning of the year. Outstanding loans to customers reached VND 180,336 billion, up 9.2%, with credit focusing on key sectors such as individual customers, small and medium enterprises (SME), FDI enterprises and the large enterprise ecosystem. Customer deposits reached VND 175,759 billion, an increase of nearly VND 8,300 billion compared to the beginning of the year.
As of March 31, 2025, Eximbank's total bad debt was over VND 4,662 billion, an increase of about VND 482 billion compared to the end of 2023. Of which, substandard debt is VND 603.8 billion, suspicious debt is VND 680.4 billion and debt with the potential to lose capital is up to VND 3,378 billion. Compared to December 31, 2023, bad debts have increased, especially the group of debtors with the potential to lose capital, increasing sharply by 13.6%.
Of the total outstanding loans of more than VND 180,336 billion, the bad debt ratio as of the end of the first quarter of 2025 was about 2.59%, a slight increase compared to 2.53% at the end of 2023. This development shows that the pressure to control credit quality at Eximbank is increasing.
