Vietnam’s Binh Son Refinery Delays Maintenance

Vietnam's Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical (BSR.HNO) will delay the maintenance at its refinery until next year, and said it expects profits to drop 88% this year due to rising costs, including higher taxes.

Binh Son said the maintenance delay would allow the company to "maximize its production, revenue and profit" this year.

The 130,000-barrel-per-day refinery was originally scheduled to undergo major maintenance from June 22 to August 11 in 2023. The maintenance will now take place early next year, the company said in a statement.

Binh Son's net profit is forecast to fall this year to 1.72 trillion dong ($73.38 million) from 14.67 trillion dong last year, the company said.

It is subject to corporate income tax of 10% this year, compared with 5% last year.

Binh Son is facing more competition in the local market as import tariffs on gasoline will be cut to 5% this year from 8%, it said. The company is also concerned it will not be able to buy enough crude oil for its operations this year due to tight supplies.

"Global inflation remains at high levels, putting upward pressure on inflation in Vietnam, which relies heavily on imported materials," the company said. "This will push operation costs higher."

Vietnam's total crude oil imports in the first quarter rose 55% from a year earlier to 2.7 million tonnes.

Binh Son, 92% owned by state oil company PetroVietnam, is also considering moving its shares to Vietnam's main bourse, Hochiminh Stock Exchange, this year.

Its shares have been trading on the unlisted public company market, or UPCoM, since 2018.

(Reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor and Jane Merriman)