Real estate developer Nam Long achieves only 3% of year's profit target

Nam Long Group, a major real estate developer in southern Vietnam, recorded an after-tax profit of VND15.5 billion ($610,345) in the first nine months of 2024, reaching only 3% of its annual target.

In its newly released consolidated financial statement for Q3, Nam Long, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange as NLG, reported a 4% increase in Q3 net revenue which totaled VND371 billion ($14.6 million).

However, a significant 17% rise in the cost of goods resulted in a 14.5% drop in its gross profit to VND128 billion ($5.04 million).

The company's financial revenue decreased from VND32 billion to VND21 billion ($827,098), while profits from joint ventures plummeted from VND89 billion to just VND16.4 billion ($645,924).

Despite a minor reduction in total expenses of about 15%, Nam Long faced a net loss after tax of VND51 billion ($2 million) in Q3, in contrast to a profit of VND66 billion in the same period last year.

Following a profitable Q2, bolstered by the sale of part of its Paragon Dai Phuoc project in the southern province of Dong Nai, Nam Long returned to the red in Q3.

This pulled its nine-month net profit down to VND15.5 billion ($610,345), marking a staggering 92% year-on-year decline. The company attributed the Q3 loss primarily to reduced profit from its joint venture Mizuki.

With signs of market recovery early this year and plans for delivering Phase 2 of the Akari project (approximately 1,000 apartments) and the VND2 trillion ($78.8 million) Southgate project, Nam Long had set ambitious business targets for this year with revenue of VND6.66 trillion ($262.3 million) and after-tax profit of VND506 billion ($19.92 million).

However, after the three quarters, the real estate firm achieved only 12.4% and 3% of its respective revenue and profit goals.

At the end of Q3, Nam Long reported total assets of VND29.83 trillion ($1.17 billion), an increase of over VND1.2 trillion from the start of the year.

Inventory rose nearly VND3 trillion to VND20.3 trillion, while cash reserves fell by VND1 trillion, and investments in joint ventures decreased by over VND400 billion.

In the first nine months, the company invested VND830 billion ($32.7 million) in a project in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, VND520 billion in the second phase of Waterpoint project in Long An province, and over VND1.08 trillion in Akari Hoang Nam project in Ho Chi Minh City.

Regarding capital sources, the real estate firm reported a rise in customer advances from VND3.81 trillion at the start of the year to VND4.64 trillion ($182.7 million). Borrowings increased by VND483 billion to VND6.59 trillion ($259.5 million), with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.5.

Nam Long is a major real estate developer in southern Vietnam, focusing on affordable housing. The company currently holds 680 hectares of land and continues to seek land for development until 2030.

Chairman Nguyen Xuan Quang once said that the firm aims to expand domestically, penetrating deeper into HCMC and then developing projects nationwide.

It has established representative offices in Hanoi and Hai Phong city in the north and developed projects in Long An, Can Tho and Dong Nai provinces in the south.

On the stock market, NLG closed Friday at VND38,750 ($1.53) per share.