Vietnam media giant YeaH1 profits handsomely from TV shows, divestments

YeaH1 Group, a leading media and entertainment company in Vietnam, reported an impressive profit in the first nine months of the year as also surging stock prices.

It credits “bold” investments in gameshows and divestments from subsidiaries for the January-September performance.

During the period, the company, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) as YEG, recorded a 2.5 times year-on-year increase in revenue to VND629 billion ($24.8 million). Its net profit also surged 4.5-fold to VND56 billion ($2.2 million).

The third quarter alone contributed 55% of total revenue and 61% of earnings.

The key driver behind this growth was the company's focus on the production of high-quality reality TV shows, notably “Anh Trai Vuot Ngan Chong Gai” (The Brother Who Overcame Thousands of Thorns) and “Chi Dep Dap Gio Re Song” (The Beautiful Sisters Riding the Wind and Waves).

The “Anh Trai Vuot Ngan Chong Gai” concert, which sold out in 40 minutes after its Tuesday launch on the Ticketbox platform, testifies to the show’s popularity and its potential to generate significant revenue, a company statement said.

In addition to its programming success, YeaH1 saw a substantial boost in revenue and profit from advertising and media consulting in the nine-month period, which rose by 218% year-on-year.

Financial revenue jumped from VND32 billion to VND101.5 billion ($4 million), thanks largely to the sale of stakes in several subsidiaries, including STV Media, YAG Entertainment, Youth Embassy Film Production and Investment Corp, and Appnews Vietnam.

The company also plans to divest from other subsidiaries, such as ANA Entertainment and Giga1 Technology this quarter.

Share issuance

YeaH1’s stock YEG, which had been languishing for years after a dramatic shock in 2019 following YouTube’s termination of its content agreement, has made a strong comeback. In the past month, its price has risen by 22% from VND9,440 to VND11,550 ($0.46) per share, bringing it close to the two-year high of VND12,000 recorded at the end of 2023. On Tuesday, YEG inched down to VND11,050 per share.

This uptick in stock price has happened amidst the broader market’s downturn that saw the VN-Index of the HoSE losing 3.7% over the past month.

YeaH1 plans to offer 54.8 million shares, or 40% of its current floating shares, to existing shareholders. If successful, its charter capital will increase from VND1.37 trillion ($54 million) to over VND1.9 trillion ($74.95 million).

The company also aims to raise VND548 billion ($21.62 million) at an offering price of VND10,000 ($0.4) per share. The proceeds will be used for several purposes, including repaying loans, acquiring shares in other companies, increasing working capital, and debt restructuring.

Of this, VND100 billion will be used to repay debts related to the acquisition of shares in Netlink Vietnam, and VND127 billion for the acquisition of a Yeah1 Edigital stake.

At the end of Q3, YeaH1 reported total liabilities of VND531 billion ($20.95 million), more than 2.5 times higher than at the start of the year. Its largest creditor was VietinBank (HoSE: CTG), to which it owed VND242 billion.