FPT Retail to build 'healthcare ecosystem'

FPT Digital Retail JSC, known as FPT Retail, intends to conduct a private placement, offering no more than 10% of its Long Chau pharmacy chain shares, in a bid to build a healthcare ecosystem.

The plan was revealed at the company’s AGM on Thursday by chairwoman of its board of directors Nguyen Bach Diep.

The capital will be used to open clinics and hospitals, Diep stated, without specifying the timing for these openings. She also cited some successful pharmacy-to-healthcare transitions, such as Amazon Pharmacy with One Medical, CVSpharmacy’s acquisition of Signifyhealth, and Walmart with Walmart Health.

FPT Long Chau now has considerable edges to upgrade its pharmacy platform to a healthcare ecosystem as it possesses a large quantity of stores and a broad base of customers, she stressed.

FPT Retail, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange as FRT, plans to launch an additional 400 drug stores and another 100 vaccination facilities under its Long Chau pharmacy chain this year.

The plan is expected to raise the number of Long Chau drug shops to 1,900, solidifying its position as the biggest pharmacy chain in Vietnam. It will help expand the Long Chau vaccination network, opening in July 2023, to 155 centers.

FPT Retail is projected to roll out a homecare service called LC247 in the third quarter and launch a medicine coverage program this year through cooperation with some major insurers such as IHH Healthcare, Bao Viet, and PVI.

Last year, the firm debuted 560 pharmacies, an addition to the total outlets of 1,500 as of end-2023. Long Chau pharmacy chain is poised for double-digit growth this year after recording a 66% increase in revenue and making up 50% of FPT Retail’s revenue last year.

Speaking at the meeting, FPT Retail director Hoang Trung Kien stated that FPT Shop, a retail technology subsidiary of FPT Retail, will promote online sales, enlarge its electronics portfolio, roll out its mobile virtual network, and shutter 50 unprofitable outlets amid a challenging tech market.

Last year, FPT Shop kicked off online sales and put its products on TikTok Shop, an e-commerce platform under TikTok Vietnam. Kien projected its revenue to stay flat this year.

FPT Retail targets a revenue of VND37.3 trillion ($1.46 billion) in 2024, up 17% year-on-year, and VND125 billion ($4.92 million) in pre-tax profit, a significant improvement compared to a loss of nearly VND300 billion in 2023, Kien said.

In Q1/2024, FPT Retail earned VND80 billion ($3.15 million) in consolidated revenue, Kien revealed, adding that the firm is confident to reach its financial goals this year though Q2 and Q3 will enter the low season.