The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Firm Performance: Empirical Evidence from Vietnam

The outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused serious impacts not only on human health but also on the economies around the world. Enterprises play an important role in the development of every country but it is also one of the most affected sectors during the pandemic. Drawing on panel data of 131 enterprises listed on the Vietnamese stock exchange from 2016Q1 to 2021Q3, this study aims to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on firm performance. Enterprises are classified into seven industries including Agriculture, Material, Industry, Real estate and Construction, Energy, Consumer, and Service. The paper also analyzes the variation of the effects among companies, focusing on differences in revenue and capital structure. The results show that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affects business performance. In addition, the empirical findings indicate that revenue and debt decreasing can cause deterioration of firm performance during the pandemic period. The decrease in revenue has a direct impact on firm profitability. The reduction of debt levels affects the corporate leverage leading to adverse effects on firm performance. The negative effect is more pronounced for companies in some specific sectors including industry, real estate, construction, consumption, and services.