Masan's revenue grows 3.6% to $1.6 bln in H1

Leading Vietnamese private conglomerate Masan Group recorded a revenue of VND37.32 trillion ($1.57 billion) in the first half of 2023, up 3.6% year-on-year, the firm announced Friday.

Its gross profit reached VND10.41 trillion ($439.46 million), up 3.6% year-on-year, while profit after taxes after minority interests (NPAT Pre-MI) fell 72.1% year-on-year to VND868 billion ($36.63 million).

Masan, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) as MSN, will continue to actively explore alternatives in the capital market to extend its debt maturities, improve interest rates, and unlock earnings via deleveraging, the firm said in a release.

The firm stressed that the challenging macro conditions continued to put a dent in both consumer and business confidence. Although Vietnam’s GDP growth reached 4.1% in Q2/2023, an improvement from 3.3% in the previous quarter, it is still below the 6.5% target level for full-year 2023. As a result, consumers and businesses continued to be cautious in the first half of the year.

Among subsidiaries, The CrownX's (TCX) revenue recorded VND26.84 trillion ($1.13 billion) in H1 and VND13.54 trillion ($571.2 million) in Q2, up 3.1% and 7.6% year-on-year, respectively.

TCX’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) posted VND3.51 trillion ($148 million) in H1 and VND1.98 trillion ($83.4 million) in Q2, up 10.3% and 28.3%, respectively.

Phuc Long Heritage, a cafe chain, posted a 4.6% year-on-year revenue decline in H1 with slow new store opening amid challenging food and beverage retail environment.

Masan MEATLife, a meat chain, increased its revenue by 70.2% year-on-year in H1 and 68.7% year-on-year in Q2, thanks to higher topline across all segments and the addition of processed meat segment.

Masan High-Tech Materials' revenue declined 9.9% year-on-year in H1 due to subdued global demand for its products.

Techcombank, Masan’s associated company, contributed VND1.85 trillion ($78.2 million) in EBITDA in H1, representing a decline of 23.4% year-on-year.

However, loosening monetary policy, together with supportive fiscal measures (increased public investments, VAT cuts, and others) are expected to provide a strong foundation for improved economic conditions in H2/2023, Masan noted.

“We are singularly focused on giving consumers what they want. Consumers are starting to recognize and reward us for our consumer-centric innovations - membership, retail formats, and FMCG products. I am sure we will see the tailwind in the second half of the year, which will set the growth foundation for 2024,” said chairman of Masan Group Nguyen Dang Quang.

MSN shares ended up 2.26% to VND86,100 ($3.63) each on Friday.