Ground-breaking ceremony for a hi-tech pig farm of Masan Group (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) - The Masan Group Corporation (Masan), which saw an increase of more than 57 percent in profit last year, has set a target of double-digit growth for 2019.
Its profits totalled 3.47 trillion VND (151.2 million USD) last year. Masan launched its branded fresh meat platform “MEATDeli” in 2018, and shifted Masan Nutri-Science to a fast-moving consumer-goods (FMCG) business, driving long-term revenue and profitability growth across pig price cycles. Masan expects net revenue growth of 18-30 percent in the 2019 financial year.
“With the launch of MEATDeli, Masan Nutri-Science will become a branded FMCG business by converting the $10.2 billion pork meat market through setting the new standard for safe fresh and processed meat products,” said chairman and CEO Nguyen Dang Quang.
Masan Consumer, Masan’s key subsidiary, has achieved a new record for the business. Premium product sales in seasonings delivered growth of 40 percent for the 2018 financial year and accounted for 10 percent of the portfolio.
The seasonings portfolio’s net revenue grew by 34.9 percent for the financial year and 25.5 percent for the fourth quarter of 2018 against the same period in 2017, while convenience foods premium portfolio delivered 50 percent growth for the financial year and represented 40 percent of the group’s portfolio, up 29.3 percent for the year, and 17.4 percent for the fourth quarter of 2018 against the same period the previous year.
In the beverage segment, net revenue increased by 55.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018 and 36.4 percent for the 2018 financial year, led by energy drinks.
The energy drink segment grew by 60 percent year-on-year due to the drink Wakeup 247, improved brand power, and more points of sales, from 75,000 last year to 160,000, as of the fourth quarter of 2018.
Instant coffee achieved 643 billion VND (28 million USD) in net revenue during the fourth quarter of 2018, up 3.8 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. For the full year, this segment achieved 11.5 percent growth in net revenue.
In addition, beer underperformed against management expectations, net revenue in fourth quarter of 2018 dropped by 33.2 percent year-on-year, and full year net revenue delivered 23.3 percent growth.
In the fourth quarter of 2018, Masan Consumer built a dedicated sales force, key to scaling up the business this year. Processed meat delivered 24.5 percent growth in net revenue for the fourth quarter of 2018, but declined by 4.8 percent for the 2018 financial year. The first co-product launched with Jin-Ju in the fourth quarter of 2018, the “Ponnie”, a premium sausage brand, drove fourth quarter sales growth in 2018.
The innovation pipeline to cater to Vietnamese tastes and preferences for 2019 will be key to driving business growth for Masan.
Masan Resource, another subsidiary of Masan, maintained a high growth momentum with net revenue growth of 47.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018 and 27 percent in the 2018 financial year.
Masan Resource recently acquired 49 percent of HC Starck, and renamed it Masan Tungsten Limited Liability Company, contributing to the outstanding performance. Masan Resource plans to increase capacity to 12,000 mtu, making it one of the world’s largest mid-stream tungsten producer.
In the new financial year, Masan expects to achieve net revenue of 45.2-50 trillion VND (1.26-2.18 billion USD), a growth of 18-31 percent. Masan Resource’s net revenue is expected to grow by 20-30 percent. The feed business is expected to grow by 10-15 percent.
Net revenue from fresh meat is expected to contribute 10 percent of Masan Resource’ consolidated net revenue. A key potential risk would be a pig disease outbreak, which would impact feed sales growth.-VNA
VNA
