Q2 shines for Vietnam's livestock companies

Despite market fluctuations, domestic livestock companies in Vietnam reported positive business results in the first half of this year, largely thanks to effective product and cost management.

Business surge

On the stock market, livestock stocks have experienced a significant rise in the past three months.

Specifically, as of the closing session last Friday, August 29 (the last trading day before the National Day holiday - September 1-2), MML of Masan MeatLife reached VND38,700 ($1.47) apiece, up by 33.91%.

Similarly, HAG of Hoang Anh Gia Lai JSC and DBC of Dabaco Vietnam saw increases of 17.02% and 12.57%, respectively. Meanwhile, BAF of BAF Vietnam dropped by 0.99%, while VSN of Vissan saw a modest rise of 1.88%.

Since the beginning of the year, apart from VSN (-10.4%), other livestock stocks have seen substantial growth, with MML rising by 60.58%, BAF by 24.91%, and DBC by 13.57%. In general, the positive Q2 results of 2025 have given a strong boost to livestock stocks.

Among the standout performers is Masan MeatLife (UPCoM: MML), which reported Q2 revenues of over VND2,340 billion ($88.74 million), marking a 30.7% increase compared to VND1,790 billion in the same period last year.

Despite rising costs, with the cost of goods sold and selling expenses increasing by 25% and 33.5%, respectively, the company posted a pre-tax profit of VND248.4 billion ($9.42 million), with net profit slightly higher at VND248.6 billion.

This is a significant improvement compared to Q2/2024, when the company recorded pre-tax and after-tax losses of VND34 billion and VND32 billion, respectively.

Masan Group attributed the positive results to a 12.2% year-on-year increase in pork prices and an uptick in sales volume.

As a result, for H1, Masan MeatLife reported a revenue of VND4,564 billion ($173 million) and a net profit of VND364.3 billion ($13.8 million).

At its 2025 AGM, its shareholders approved a target of VND8,250-8,750 billion in revenue for this year, representing an 8-14% rise from 2024, with a net profit target of VND25-205 billion - an outlook ranging from flat to over four times the level of 2024.

Thus, the company already exceeded the year's profit target by 77.6% (based on a goal of VND205 billion).

Another company to report a strong Q2 performance is BAF Vietnam (HoSE: BAF). According to its Q2/2025 financial statement, it posted a revenue of VND1,387 billion ($52.6 million), a slight increase of 1.6% year-on-year.

This revenue was entirely from its livestock operations after the company focused on reducing its low-margin agricultural business. After deductions, its gross profit surged by 171% to VND343 billion ($13 million).

The high pork prices during Q2, which ranged from VND65,000 to VND70,000 ($2.65) per kilogram, also positively impacted the company's results. After accounting for expenses, BAF reported a pre-tax profit of VND210 billion, a 204% year-on-year surge, with net profit soaring 444% to VND196 billion ($7.43 million).

For H1, BAF recorded a pre-tax profit of VND351 billion and a net profit of VND330 billion ($12.5 million), up 69% and 112% from the same period last year. This achievement brought the company closer to its 2025 full-year targets, reaching approximately 44% of its revenue goal and nearly 52% of its net profit target.

The impressive results were attributed to the company's continuous expansion of its pig herd, which now totals over 800,000 head, double the number from the previous year. BAF is also aggressively expanding its breeding operations and plans to open at least eight high-tech farms in 2025, in partnership with China's Muyuan Group, with a total capacity of 17,500 breeding sows and 156,000 fattened pigs.

Dabaco Vietnam (HoSE: DBC) also reported strong results for Q2, with a net profit of over VND500 billion ($18.96 million), a 249% surge year-on-year. The company noted that its production activities across feed, livestock farming, vegetable oil, and vaccines all saw growth.

Thanks to high vaccine efficacy, the company was able to maintain tight control over disease outbreaks in its livestock herds. Additionally, lower production costs contributed to the strong growth in profits.

In H1, Dabaco's net profit reached over VND1,000 billion ($37.92 million), nearly 4.7 times higher than the same period in 2024, and slightly exceeding its full-year profit target.

Meanwhile, Vissan (UPCoM: VSN) reported a less favorable Q2 performance, with both revenue and profit showing a decline. According to the Q2/2025 financial report, Vissan recorded a revenue of VND660 billion ($25 million), down 8.3% from VND720 billion in the same period last year.

Although costs and expenses decreased, the company saw a drop in profits, with a pre-tax profit of VND19 billion and a net profit of VND15 billion ($568,828), down 42.4% and 43.8% year-on-year, respectively.

For H1, Vissan's revenue decreased by 8.9% to VND1,419 billion ($53.8 million), while its pre-tax profit dropped 38.7% year-on-year to VND42.9 billion, and net profit decreased by 39.5% to VND33.6 billion ($1.27 million).

Bright prospects for livestock businesses

Although the livestock sector has been affected by African Swine Fever (ASF), statistics from the National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Finance and the Department of Livestock and Veterinary under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment show that, as of July, the national pig herd had increased by 2.1% year-on-year, reaching over 30 million pigs. This was due to the effective disease control measures implemented by large farming enterprises.

Recent reports indicate that ASF outbreaks have primarily affected small-scale farms, with approximately 136,000 pigs culled. According to Vietcombank Securities (VCBS), livestock businesses now account for 65% of the sector's market share, with small-scale farmers holding the remaining 35%.

VCBS predicts that the share of small-scale farms will shrink to 25% over the next five years due to stricter livestock standards that many small farmers will struggle to meet. Furthermore, livestock businesses are reducing the number of contracted farms with smallholders.

VCBS also forecasts that pork prices will begin to ease in H2/2025 as businesses start to sell off pigs after preparing for herd replenishment. However, they expect the average price of pork across the country to reach around VND73,661 ($2.79) per kilogram in the latter half of the year, a 18% rise from the same period in 2024.

Despite the increase, the current national pig herd of 31.8 million is still insufficient to meet the annual demand of around 33 million pigs.