Logistics heavyweight Gemadept reports 5-fold profit hike after port sale

Gemadept, a leading port operator and logistics firm in Vietnam, reported an after-tax profit of VND1.71 trillion ($72.3 million) in the second quarter of the year, up 5 times year-on-year thanks to the sale of Nam Hai Dinh Vu port.

The company recorded VND1.86 trillion ($78.6 million) revenue from financial activities in the period, mainly from the sale of Nam Hai Dinh Vu port to Vietnam Container Shipping Joint Stock Corporation (Viconship).

Gemadept, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) as GMD, earned net revenue of VND912 billion ($38.5 million) in Q2, down 6% year-on-year.

In the first six months, Gemadept posted total revenue of VND3.7 trillion ($156.2 million) and after-tax profit of VND1,966 billion ($82.9 million), up 98% and 3 times year-on-year, respectively.

As of June 30, Gemadept's assets stood at VND14.01 trillion ($591.5 million), up 7% compared to the beginning of the year, of which short-term assets hit VND4.01 trillion ($169.3 million), up 53%. Notable, cash equivalents were up 2.3 times to VND1.44 trillion ($60.8 million).

This year, Gemadept is targeting revenue of VND3.92 trillion ($167 million), up 3% against last year’s plan, and profit before tax of VND1.14 trillion ($48.4 million), up 14%.

On the HoSE, GMD shares hit VND57,700 ($2.43) on July 27.

On May 31, Gemadept announced that it had divested its entire 84.66% stake in Nam Hai Dinh Vu Port JSC.

Nam Hai Dinh Vu port is among the top port hubs in the northern city of Hai Phong thanks to its modern facilities and equipment. The 16.68-hectare port in Dinh Vu Industrial Park, Hai Phong city can accommodate vessels of up to 48,000 deadweight ton (DWT) and has an annual capacity of 550,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

Nam Hai Dinh Vu port accounts for 50% of the total handling volume of Gemadept ports in Hai Phong and 10% of the market share in the Hai Phong port cluster.

In a report released in March, SSI Research forecast that Gemadept could record a profit of VND2 trillion ($84.4 million) from the sale of Nam Hai Dinh Vu port.

Meanwhile, BSC Securities said that the growth potential of Gemadept in Hai Phong after the sale of Nam Hai Dinh Vu port will be low because the ports have been almost fully utilized.

Gemadept’s port system includes three in the northern region, namely Nam Hai ICD, Nam Hai, Nam Dinh Vu; one in the central region, Dung Quat; and three in the southern region, Phuoc Long ICD, Gemalink, and Binh Duong.

In June, Gemadept said that it will continue to expand two of its major ports in the country this year.

The upgrades will take place at Gemalink port in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province in the south and Nam Dinh Vu port in Hai Phong city in the north, as approved by the company’s annual general meeting of shareholders on June 9 in Ho Chi Minh City.

The first expansion project is the second phase at Gemalink port, which covers 39 hectares, to handle vessels of 250,000 tons deadweight tons (DWT). The first leg of the second phase is set for completion by 2025, followed by the second leg in 2027.

At Nam Dinh Vu port, phase 3 includes more than 25 hectares to handle 48,000 DWT vessels. Work is set to begin in the fourth quarter of this year, and a completion date has been set for the end of 2025.

The HCMC-based corporation’s management board told shareholders that Gemadept will continue to divest from its real estate and rubber-growing projects in Cambodia, and seek potential partners to transfer stakes to focus on its core business – logistics and port operations. Gemadept did not give details of potential buyers.