Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group to pay cash dividends only, plans to downsize charter capital

Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HoSE: HAGL) will not issue new shares and plans to buy back shares to reduce its charter capital to VND9 trillion ($341.77 million), chairman Doan Nguyen Duc said, adding the company will only pay dividends in cash going forward.

Ahead of its 2026 AGM, Duc completed the purchase of 4 million HAG shares, raising his stake to 24.77%. Including related parties, the shareholder group now holds nearly 30% of the company.

At the company's AGM on Friday, Duc said he had previously held a large stake in HAGL but sold shares during its restructuring, and is now buying back to increase ownership. He has registered to acquire a total of 9 million shares in two rounds and plans further purchases.

“The lower the price, the more I buy. The market is volatile and investors may lack confidence in HAGL, but as its leader I need to keep buying or I may miss the opportunity,” Duc said.

After more than a decade of restructuring, HAGL is entering a recovery phase. In 2025, it reported post-tax profit of VND2.24 trillion ($85.05 million), up 111.3% year-on-year, driven by higher revenue from fruit, mainly bananas and durians, amid stronger volumes and prices.

The company also recorded nearly VND1.07 trillion ($40.44 million) in waived interest expenses. Excluding this, net profit stood at nearly VND1.18 trillion ($44.62 million), exceeding the year's target by 5%.

By the end of 2025, HAGL had eliminated accumulated losses, with retained earnings of over VND1.39 trillion (VND52.89 million), marking the first time since the fourth quarter of 2020 that it no longer carried accumulated losses.

CEO Nguyen Xuan Thang said 2025 marked the start of a new strategic phase, with the company halting expansion in bananas, slowing durian investment, and shifting focus to coffee and mulberry cultivation.

HAGL plans to maintain more than 7,000 hectares of bananas, expand durian acreage to 2,700 hectares, and sharply increase coffee planting. Coffee area reached 3,000 hectares in 2025 and is targeted to rise to 20,000 hectares within three years, including 7,000 hectares to be planted in 2026. Mulberry area is set to double to 2,000 hectares this year.

The company also plans to build coffee processing facilities, including four wet-processing plants and one instant coffee plant.

Duc said HAGL would invest cautiously to avoid past debt issues, adding it would cap debt at no more than 50% of equity and 30% of total assets. The company estimates investment needs of about VND5 trillion ($189.85 milion). in 2026, to be funded by retained earnings, an IPO of subsidiary Thang Loi Gia Lai, and financing from the parent company.

For land, HAGL plans to grow Arabica coffee, which requires high-altitude areas. The company has secured about 85% of the land needed for its 20,000-hectare target in Laos through long-term partnerships.

HAGL targets revenue of over VND8.62 trillion ($327.47 million) and net profit of over VND4.2 trillion ($159.56 million) in 2026, up 16% and double 2025 levels, respectively. First-quarter profit is estimated at around VND1.28 trillion ($48.6 million)

The board proposed retaining all 2025 earnings, after offsetting past losses, to reinvest in coffee and mulberry projects, meaning no dividend will be paid for 2026. However, the company plans a 5% cash dividend for 2026, to be distributed in 2027.

Duc reaffirmed HAGL would not issue shares to pay dividends and would only pay cash dividends. He added that if financial conditions allow, the company will repurchase shares to reduce charter capital back to VND9 trillion ($341.77 million).