The effect of debt ratio and COVID-19 pandemic on profitability of Vietnam coal mining enterprises

Abstract

After the restructure of the Vietnam National Coal – Mineral Industries Holding Corporation Limited (Vinacomin) from 2012 to 2015, Vietnamese coal mining enterprises recovered their investment in other industries and focused only on coal mining activities. In the context of competition and lack of resources, Vietnamese coal mining enterprises have two solutions: (1) save costs; (2) using loans to invest in new machinery and equipment to increase productivity. In 2020, coal mining enterprises faced difficulties due to complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, disrupting the socio - economic activities of countries worldwide. The article examines the impact of the debt ratio, asset structure, and COVID-19 pandemic on the profitability of coal mining enterprises. It applies the ordinary least squares (OLS) regression method on data of asset structures, capital structures, ROE of 18 coal mining enterprises from 2015 to 2020. The result showed that the debt ratio and the asset structures of a coal mining enterprise positively impact its profitability. The paper also suggests that borrowing to invest in technology will help coal mining enterprises improve their profitability. And an unexpected result is that during the COVID-19 period, coal mining enterprises have higher profitability than those not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.