Vietnam food giant Kido’s stock plunges to 6-year low amid profit warning, market pressure

KDC shares of Kido Group, a leading food company in Vietnam, on Tuesday fell sharply to its lowest level in six years, at around VND41,600 ($1.58) apiece, from roughly VND50,000 earlier this month.

The shares had remained relatively stable in the VND50,000-55,000 ($2.09) range over the past four years, weathering major market shocks including the 2022 bond crisis, 2024 tariff concerns, and geopolitical tensions in early 2026.

However, since the beginning of April, KDC has come under strong selling pressure. On Tuesday, the stock hit its floor price of VND41,600 ($1.58), with nearly 2 million shares queued for sale at the limit-down level while fewer than 200,000 shares were matched during the morning session.

The sharp decline is unusual for a stock that typically trades only a few hundred thousand shares per day.

Insider transactions and planned buyback

Amid the sell-off, board member Vuong Buu Linh, also the wife of chairman Tran Kim Thanh, registered to purchase 2 million KDC shares between April 24 and May 23. If completed, her ownership will rise from 0.97% to 1.66%.

In contrast, another board member, Nguyen Thi Xuan Lieu, registered to sell her entire holding of 151,794 shares during the same period.

At a recent extraordinary shareholder meeting, shareholders approved a plan for the company to repurchase up to 14.49 million shares (around 5% of floating shares) to reduce charter capital and support share value.

The company said it had assessed liquidity conditions to ensure the buyback would not affect working capital or long-term investment plans.

Given the recent price decline, Kido is expected to move forward with the buyback to help stabilize trading.

Weaker earnings outlook despite M&A gains

Kido, long associated with chairman Tran Kim Thanh and vice chairman Tran Le Nguyen, continues to rely heavily on its core cooking oil and food segments, while growth has been supported mainly through mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

According to its 2025 audited consolidated financial statements, gross profit from core operations reached VND1,674 billion ($63.53 million), which was still not enough to cover selling and administrative expenses of VND1,724 billion.

Despite this, the company reported pre-tax profit of VND727 billion or $27.59 million (up sevenfold) and after-tax profit of VND587 billion (up 8.8 times year-on-year), driven mainly by VND225.9 billion in gains from associates and VND513 billion in financial income.

During the year, Kido completed the sale of a 19.6% stake in Kido Foods to the Nuti group, generating a gain of VND504 billion ($19.13 million), and sold 50% of Dabaco Food for VND74.8 billion ($2.84 million).

It also acquired a 40.05% stake in Bac Binh Construction Investment Co., Ltd. - the operator of Van Hanh Mall, which contributed over VND30 billion in profit in its first year as an associate company.

Despite these gains, the group failed to meet its 2025 targets of VND13 trillion ($493.4 million) in revenue and VND800 billion ($30.36 million) in pre-tax profit. Since 2021, Kido has consistently set ambitious targets of VND 11.5-15 trillion in revenue and VND800-900 billion in profit, but actual performance has fallen short, with profit target completion rates of just 36% in 2023 and 13% in 2024.

More cautious outlook for 2026

In response to a more challenging operating environment, Kido has set more conservative targets for 2026, including revenue of VND12 trillion ($455.46 million) and pre-tax profit of VND700 billion ($26.57 million). While revenue is projected to rise 33.3% year-on-year, profit is expected to remain broadly flat.

Chairman Tran Kim Thanh said the outlook remains highly uncertain, citing global instability, including tensions involving the U.S., Israel, and Iran, which have tightened global oil supply and affected energy markets.

Domestically, Vietnam enters 2026 with a strong GDP growth target of 10%, but faces headwinds from rising inflation, high living costs, labor market instability, elevated interest rates, weakening consumer demand, and pressure on corporate finances.

For Kido, its cooking oil segment, accounting for more than 80% of revenue, remains under pressure. Rising crude oil prices, higher demand for vegetable oils in biofuel production, and a stronger USD/VND exchange rate have all increased input costs.

In response, the group plans to defend market share, expand distribution channels, upgrade product lines across cooking oil, butter, seasoning, and confectionery, and continue using M&A as a strategic driver to build its ecosystem.