Samsung’s Vietnam subsidiaries post 2-digit drop in sales, profit

Four Vietnamese subsidiaries of South Korean giant Samsung Electronics reported revenues of KRW81,146.7 billion ($60.83 billion) in 2023, down 11.83% year-on-year; and after-tax profits of KRW5,263.1 billion ($3.95 billion), down 13.09%.

According to audited financial statements, Samsung Electronics Vietnam Thai Nguyen (SEVT), headquartered in the eponymous northern province, was the best performer last year with revenues of KRW30,639.3 billion ($22.97 billion), down 15.68% year-on-year. Its after-tax profit was KRW2,240.5 billion ($1.68 billion), down 17.68%.

SEVT’s revenue and post-tax profit figures were among the highest of Samsung globally, only smaller than South Korea-based Samsung Display and U.S.-based Samsung Electronics America.

Samsung Display Vietnam (SDV), located in the northern province of Bac Ninh, posted post-tax profits of KRW1,143.8 billion ($857.5 million) on revenues of KRW24,200.2 billion ($18.14 billion), down 12.14% and 6.11% year-on-year, respectively.

SDV was also among the best performers of Samsung, as its revenue was only smaller than those of Samsung Display, Samsung Electronics America, and SEVT.

Samsung Electronics Vietnam (SEV), also based in Bac Ninh, earned revenues of KRW20,154.1 billion ($15.11 billion) and post-tax profits of KRW1,476.4 billion ($1.12 billion), down 14.84% and 10.31% year-on-year, respectively.

Samsung Electronics HCMC CE Complex, located in Ho Chi Minh City, saw its revenue go down 1.61% year-on-year to KRW6,153 billion ($4.6 billion); but its post-tax profit went up 4.22% to KRW40.4 billion ($301.7 million).

Globally, Samsung Electronics earned post-tax profits of $11.86 billion last year, down 72.2% year-on-year, while its revenue fell 14.3% to $198.25 billion.

Its four Vietnam factories accounted for 31.3% and 34% of Samsung Electronics’s global sales and post-tax profits, respectively.

Samsung has so far invested $20 billion in Vietnam, employing over 100,000 people in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and the northern provinces of Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen, Samsung Vietnam CEO Choi Joo Ho informed Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang in July 2023.

In November 2023, Ho told the Nguyen Hong Son, vice head of the Central Economic Commission that Samsung plans to invest an additional $2 billion more in Vietnam, raising its total investment in the Southeast Asian nation to $22 billion.

He told Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc last month that Samsung had invested $1.2 billion in Vietnam last year. The investments were focused on the supporting industry, workforce training, cooperation with the National Innovation Center (NIC) and the establishment of smart factories, he said.