Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Dairy companies reported divergent business results in the first nine months of 2026, with some recording strong profit growth and approaching their full-year targets, while others continued to struggle with rising costs and weak operating efficiency.
The differences were particularly evident in cost of goods sold, selling expenses and financial costs, which had varying impacts on firms' gross margins and bottom lines.
Vinamilk maintained its leading position in revenue among the enterprises surveyed, while reporting positive growth in both the third quarter and the first nine months.
According to its consolidated financial statements, Vinamilk recorded net revenue of nearly 18.5 trillion VND (723 million USD) in the third quarter, up 9% year-on-year. Profits after tax rose by nearly 18% to 2.96 trillion VND.
Vinamilk attributed its profit growth to a recovery in the domestic market and expansion in exports. A higher proportion of value-added products with better profit margins also contributed to improved business performance.
Domestic revenue reached over 14.7 trillion VND, up 9%, while overseas revenue increased 8% to 3.7 trillion VND.
For the first nine months, Vinamilk's net revenue rose by 14.5% year-on-year to 53.4 trillion VND, while profit after tax increased by more than 30% to 8.6 trillion VND.
Lof International Dairy Products JSC attracted attention with a sharp turnaround in profitability.
Its third-quarter net revenue rose by 32.8% year-on-year to more than 2.1 trillion VND, while cost of goods sold increased at a much slower pace, by 12.4%, to nearly 1.3 trillion VND. As a result, gross profit surged by 82.9% to 859 billion VND, lifting the gross profit margin from 29% to 40%.
Net operating profit reached 261 billion VND, compared with an operating loss of 197 billion VND in the same period last year.
The company also reduced selling expenses by 12% to 520 billion VND and administrative expenses by 2.6% to 71 billion VND.
However, financial expenses increased by 80% to 68 billion VND, including 61 billion VND in interest expenses.
Lof International Dairy Products nevertheless reported a profit after tax of 224 billion VND, reversing a loss of nearly 133 billion VND a year earlier.
In the first nine months, its net revenue increased by 10% to 6.1 trillion VND, while profit after tax reached 697 billion VND, compared with a loss of 62 billion VND in the corresponding period last year.
Moc Chau Dairy Cattle Breeding also recorded higher profits despite a decline in quarterly revenue.
Its third-quarter net revenue fell by 3.5% year-on-year to 692 billion VND. Cost of goods sold declined by 4.2% to 495 billion VND, leaving gross profit at more than 197 billion VND, down 1.5%.
Financial income increased by 8.2% to 28 billion VND, while financial expenses dropped sharply from nearly 1.7 billion VND to 53.9 million VND. Selling expenses fell by 9.5% to 164 billion VND.
For the first nine months, Moc Chau Dairy reported net revenue of nearly 2.2 trillion VND, up 3.7%, and after-tax profit of more than 207.8 billion VND, an increase of 36.8%.
In contrast, Hanoimilk continued to face pressure from rising expenses, which eroded the benefits of revenue growth.
Hanoimilk's third-quarter net revenue increased by 31% year-on-year to 200 billion VND. Its cost of goods sold rose from 125 billion VND to 163 billion VND, while gross profit climbed by 31% to 36 billion VND.
However, higher expenses significantly reduced operating earnings. The firm's financial expenses jumped from 1.7 billion VND to 8.8 billion VND, largely due to interest expenses. Selling expenses increased from 20 billion VND to 23 billion VND, while administrative expenses rose from 4 billion VND to nearly 6 billion VND.
For the first nine months, Hanoimilk's net revenue reached 585 billion VND, up 11%, while profit after tax edged up around 1% to 14.8 billion VND./.
Removing bottlenecks needed to promote sustainable development of Vietnam’s dairy industry
Experts recommended that Vietnam learn from the experiences of the Philippines, Indonesia and China in introducing mandatory minimum proportions of domestically produced fresh milk in dairy processing, alongside preferential capital, credit and tax policies for enterprises purchasing domestic milk beyond prescribed requirements.
