Vietnamese supplier Gilimex to put $280 mln Amazon Robotics lawsuit on shareholder agenda

Binh Thanh Import-Export Production and Trading JSC (Gilimex) said its board of shareholders will seek shareholder approval for items related to safeguarding the company’s legal rights and interests in a lawsuit against U.S.-based client Amazon Robotics LLC, a subsidiary of Amazon.com.

The proposals will be put forward at Gilimex’s extraordinary general meeting slated for September 11 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Amazon Robotics, which manufactures robotic storage and delivery systems for organizing and transporting inventory within Amazon.com’s warehouse distribution centers, contracted with Gilimex to manufacture specially designed storage pods for use in those systems.

Amazon Robotics was one of Gilimex’s major clients from 2014. The Vietnamese supplier said it invested heavily in facilities and labor to meet Amazon’s requirements under their agreement.

However, Amazon abruptly shifted course and slashed orders, breaching the contract, severely disrupting Gilimex’s operations and causing damage of $280 million, the Vietnamese company claimed.

Gilimex subsequently filed a lawsuit against Amazon in 2022 with a competent U.S. court, and the case is still pending.

Its board plans to seek shareholder approval authorizing the company’s legal representative, CEO, other executives, and external advisors, to study and implement effective measures to best safeguard the company’s lawful rights and interests in the lawsuit before the court.

According to the proposals, the company will also abide by the legally effective rulings of the court. Its legal representative, CEO, other executives, and employees involved in supporting the case will not bear personal liability for any potential damage arising from the lawsuit.

At the same time, Gilimex will safeguard the rights, honor, and reputation of these individuals and will not hold them legally liable for matters related to the lawsuit.

The success fee for the advisory firms representing the company in the lawsuit will be 20% of the total amount Gilimex receives from Amazon under a legally binding U.S. court ruling.

The total bonus for the company’s legal representative, CEO, other executives, and employees who participated in and supported the lawsuit will be 20% of the remaining proceeds Gilimex receives from Amazon, after deducting its total losses and litigation costs.

On August 7, the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE) reminded Gilimex of its delayed submission of the Q2/2025 financial report. As of August 13, HoSE had still not received the report and issued a second reminder.

Under regulations, a listed company or a large public company that is a parent of another entity - or a parent accounting unit with subordinate accounting units operating their own accounting system - must publish its quarterly financial report within 30 days from the end of the quarter.

The Q2/2025 financial report ended on June 30, 2025, meaning the final deadline for publication was the end of July 2025.

In its most recent Q1/2025 report, Gilimex recorded revenue of VND126.02 billion ($4.78 million), down 43.1% year-on-year, while net profit fell 70.9% to VND2.1 billion ($79,696). Its gross margin also narrowed, dropping from 21.3% to 18.1%.

For 2025, Gilimex targets revenue of VND1.2 trillion ($45.54 million), net profit of VND150 billion ($5.69 million), and a projected dividend payout of 10%.

However, with Q1/2025 net profit of just VND2.1 billion, Gilimex has achieved only 1.4% of its full-year net profit target.

On the stock front, after a rally in early April, GIL shares fell 14.8% between August 12 and August 22, dropping from VND20,900 to VND17,800 ($0.68) per share.

The HCMC-based Gilimex has 15 subsidiaries and two affiliates, with 5,000 employees.

GIL shares closed Friday at VND19,000 apiece ($0.72).