APC is in "turmoil"

After 15 years of listing, APC shares peaked at more over 82,000 VND/share, but are currently only worth 7,110 VND/share.

Business Downturn

Before being delisted, APC shares were under supervision pursuant to Decision No. 132/QĐ-SGDHCM dated March 16, 2023, by HoSE. The cause was the net profit in 2022 was -9 billion VND and the net profit after corporate income tax in 2021 was -1.59 billion VND.

On March 20, 2024, HoSE received the audited financial statement for 2023 from APC, which showed a net loss of -35.609 billion VND. As a result, APC shares were obliged to delist under point e, clause 1, Article 120 of Decree 155/2020/ND-CP: "1. Shares of a public company shall be delisted if:...e) the company has been incurring losses in production and business activities for three consecutive years, or the total accumulated losses exceed the amount of charter capital actually contributed, or the owner's equity is negative in the most recent audited financial statement."

The move to delist from HoSE can be viewed as "the last straw," driving APC away from expectations of increased investments, brand marketing, trade promotion, and market growth to increase the value of APC shares on the stock exchange. This was the expectation that APC had set previously when it understood the "Achilles' heel" of its business was its sole emphasis on the radiation sector.

Diversification Challenges

APC is a market-leading corporation with a distinctive business model. The firm is connected with the export of vegetables, fruits, seafood, and other items, although it does not export vegetables or fish; instead, it specializes in irradiating these products to eradicate germs and fulfill international market requirements

According to MSB's estimations, APC was the "monarch" of the southern irradiation business in 2015, with 60% of the market share for seafood and 70% for fruits. Along with two other firms, Son Son and Thai Son, these handful nevertheless made the industry enterprises stand out.

Because service supply in this market is uncommon owing to the need for both equipment investment and human training in disciplines such as energy, nuclear, and irradiation, APC was once booming, with a profit margin of 46% to more than 50% for many years.

However, once Thai Son joined and gained ownership of APC (in 2014), APC's "king of the industry" reputation shifted gradually. The irradiation playground, which still consisted of only a few businesses such as Son Son, Thai Son, Toan Phat, VinaGama, and others, became more problematic for export support services. Excluding the high profit period in 2018, APC's business grew increasingly unpredictable during the COVID-19 phase, which was compounded by financial pressure from the Bac Ninh factory.

The business plan for 2023 makes it obvious that APC no longer regards the "unique and uncommon" sector as an advantage and instead intends to expand its commercial operations to boost income. However, losses continued to pile, and headwinds from exports added to APC's burden.

APC has yet to reveal specifics regarding their business plan until 2024. The corporation intended to have its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on April 26, 2024, in Binh Duong. Certainly, one topic that APC must address with its shareholders at this meeting is the delisting and restructuring strategy to restore commercial operations.