Vietnam property developer Novaland posts skyrocketing Q3 profit

Novaland, a leading real estate developer in Vietnam, reported its after-tax profit hit VND2.95 trillion ($166.62 million) in the third quarter of this year, a 21.6-fold rise year-on-year.

The remarkable increase was primarily driven by a surge in financial revenue which had previously been excluded by auditors.

Novaland, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange as NVL, posted a year-on-year revenue growth of 100% in Q3 to VND2.01 trillion ($79.46 million) and a gross profit surging 60% to VND545 billion.

A standout feature of the quarter was a sharp rise in financial revenue, which jumped to VND3.9 trillion ($154.18 million), 2.4 times higher than a year ago.

Financial expenses fell dramatically by 75% to VND319 billion ($12.6 million). As a result, the after-tax profit attributable to the parent company's shareholders was VND3.12 trillion ($133.34 million), 18 times higher than the previous year.

The sharp increase in Q3 profit was largely attributed to the recognition of nearly VND3.05 trillion ($120.6 million) in financial revenue from the first half of the year, which had been adjusted downward by auditors.

Novaland's post-audit semi-annual report showed a record loss of nearly VND7.33 trillion ($289.8 million) in H1/2024, marking its worst half-year performance since listing in 2016, according to a post-audit earnings report.

This result was a significant reversal from the VND345 billion ($13.64 million) net profit that the company had initially reported in its unaudited financial statement.

The company attributed the great disparity to auditors’ proposal to set aside VND4.3 trillion ($140.5 million) in provision for land rent, land use fees payable and late payment of land rent for the 30-hectare Lakeview City urban area in Ho Chi Minh City.

Its financial revenue was also cut down by VND2.99 trillion ($121.5 million) and other income by VND55 billion ($2.23 million) due to contract violations, for which due amounts had not yet been collected as of June 30.

A downward adjustment of VND268 billion ($10.9 million) for inventory price reductions and other expense adjustments were also made.

For the nine-month period, the real estate developer recorded a 57% surge in net revenue to nearly VND4.3 trillion ($170 million).

Operating below cost, it incurred a gross loss of VND1.86 trillion ($73.53 million). Financial revenue soared from VND3.3 trillion to VND5.34 trillion ($211.1 million), but this was not enough to offset the gross loss and other arising expenses, leading to an after-tax loss of VND4.4 trillion ($173.95 million), much heavier than the VND958 billion recorded in the same period last year.

At the end of Q3, Novaland’s total assets stood at over VND232 trillion ($9.17 billion), down nearly VND9.5 trillion from the beginning of the year. The company reported over VND3.8 trillion in cash and equivalents, while inventory rose to VND145 trillion.

Its debt increased by VND2.12 trillion to VND59.8 trillion ($2.36 billion), with bond debt reaching VND38.9 trillion, a rise of VND256 billion from the beginning of the year.

On the stock market, NVL closed Wednesday at VND10,700 ($0.42) per share, up 3.38% from the previous session.