The 2013 financial reports of many fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) firms released to date indicate that they have gained fairly good profits compared to 2012 in spite of high sales expenses and production costs, according to The Saigon Times Daily.

The financial report of Lix Detergent Joint-Stock Company shows that sales and service revenues in the fourth quarter and the whole 2013 increased by 5 percent and 10 percent respectively over the corresponding periods of 2012.

However, the company had to shoulder growing costs, with the production cost rising more than 4.8 precent and sales expenses up 22.7 percent. Yet its net profits of 2013 reached more than 68.7 billion VND (3.23 million USD), a rise of 15 percent year-on-year.

Other listed enterprises such as Net Detergent Joint-Stock Company enjoyed similar results. Its financial report for the last quarter of 2013, pending auditing, shows that the total sales and service revenues rose 3.6 percent over 2012.

Even though the production cost did not fluctuate, the company had to spend more on sale expenses and management costs by 23.9 percent and 17.9 percent respectively compared to 2012. Overall still, its net profits reached 56.76 billion VND in 2013, a rise of nearly 700 million VND compared to 2012.

For Tuong An Vegetable Oil Joint-Stock Company, its net profits reflected in its financial report are over 65.58 billion VND, a rise of 3.1 percent compared to 2012 despite growing sales costs. The report also indicates that the production cost in 2013 rose by over 6 percent year-on-year.

Vinamilk Joint-Stock Company, as a giant in the FMCG sector, also reported higher sales expenses and production cost.

According to Mai Kieu Lien, General Director of Vinamilk, the company’s net profits of the fourth quarter dropped by 10.8 percent compared to the same period of 2012, but its net profits for the whole 2013 reached 6.53 trillion VND in 2013, a rise of 12.2 percent year-on-year.-VNA