SMC Replaces CEO and Deputy CEO as Q3 Profit Rebounds
This Aveluro analysis covers SMC on HOSE in the Basic Resources sector. The classified event type is leadership change, with neutral sentiment and a deterministic market-impact score of 5.0/10. Source coverage came from CafeF - Doanh nghiệp, classified as a primary/top-tier source.
Key Facts
Caveat: Not investment advice. · How Aveluro computed this: Aveluro combines extracted event facts, source credibility, ticker context, and market data. Scores are deterministic research signals, not recommendations.
Overview
SMC Investment Trading JSC (ticker SMC, HOSE) has removed Nguyen Quang Trung as CEO and legal representative and Nguyen Ngoc Y Nhi as Deputy CEO in charge of finance and accounting, both effective November 5. Chairman Pham Hoang Anh takes over as CEO and legal representative. The leadership change coincides with a Q3/2026 earnings swing: net revenue fell 21% year on year to VND 1,238 billion, but the company posted net profit of nearly VND 30 billion against a loss of nearly VND 78 billion a year earlier.
Key Facts
- Nguyen Quang Trung’s removal as CEO and legal representative took effect November 5, following his resignation letter; he had held the CEO role only since January 2026, succeeding Dang Huy Hiep.
- Trung also stepped down as director and legal representative of SMC Phu My Precision Mechanical Co. and SMC Phu My Steel Processing Co.
- Nguyen Ngoc Y Nhi was removed as Deputy CEO for finance and accounting at her own request, citing personal reasons.
- Chairman Pham Hoang Anh assumes the CEO and legal representative roles, including at both Phu My subsidiaries.
- Nguyen Ngoc Dang Khoa, a board member, was named Deputy CEO for digital transformation and information systems, and becomes the authorized disclosure officer.
- Q3/2026 net revenue: VND 1,238 billion, down 21% year on year; gross profit turned positive at VND 21.2 billion versus a VND 2.2 billion gross loss.
- Q3/2026 net profit: nearly VND 30 billion versus a loss of nearly VND 78 billion; 9M/2026 revenue VND 3,624 billion (-32.5%) and net profit VND 75 billion versus a VND 159 billion loss.
What Happened
SMC’s board approved the dismissal of Nguyen Quang Trung as CEO and legal representative after he submitted a resignation letter, effective November 5, according to the company’s disclosure. The board framed the move as a shift of his focus to board work: strategy, restructuring and oversight of the wider SMC system, while allowing the company to complete a new operating model. Trung had only taken the CEO post in January 2026, replacing Dang Huy Hiep, making his tenure unusually short.
Separately, the board removed Nguyen Ngoc Y Nhi from her Deputy CEO role overseeing finance and accounting at her own request for personal reasons. Chairman Pham Hoang Anh now doubles as CEO and legal representative, and also holds the director and legal representative titles at SMC Phu My Precision Mechanical and SMC Phu My Steel Processing. The board additionally approved an internal audit charter and appointed two internal audit staff, Dang Thi Thu Trang as head and Le Thi Thanh Huyen as member, and named Nguyen Ngoc Dang Khoa as the new authorized disclosure officer.
Market Context
SMC shares closed at VND 9,640 on November 6, 2026, the session after the November 5 effective date, placing the stock in low single-digit thousands of dong per share. The company sits in the steel sector, where domestic demand from construction and industrial fabrication has been weak through 2026, reflected in SMC’s 32.5% nine-month revenue decline. The profit rebound is driven less by volume than by cost cuts: interest expense fell 35.4% to VND 23.8 billion, selling expense dropped 28.3% to VND 11.9 billion, and administrative expense fell 35% to VND 19.4 billion, alongside VND 13.4 billion of other income.
Strategic Significance
The core question for long-term holders is whether SMC’s return to profit is structural or a one-off cost and other-income effect. Revenue is still contracting sharply, so the earnings swing rests on gross-margin repair and expense discipline rather than demand recovery. Concentrating the CEO and chairman roles in Pham Hoang Anh, alongside his legal-representative posts at both Phu My subsidiaries, centralizes control during a restructuring but weakens the separation of oversight and management that the board cited as a rationale for moving Trung to a pure board role. The appointment of a digital-transformation deputy CEO and a formal internal audit function suggests the board is building a leaner, more controlled operating model; whether that translates into sustainable margins is the test.
What to Watch
- Q4/2026 and full-year 2026 results, to confirm whether gross margin stays positive as revenue continues to fall.
- Any further board or management changes, including whether the chairman-CEO dual role is made permanent or interim.
- Steel demand indicators from construction and industrial fabrication, plus domestic steel price trends.
- Disclosure filings from the new authorized officer Nguyen Ngoc Dang Khoa, including any restructuring or subsidiary plans.
- Internal audit findings or governance updates following the new audit charter.