Vinamilk sees revenue and profit up despite COVID-19 hinh anh 1Vinamilk holds its annual general meeting 2020 on June 26 (Photo: VNA)
 
HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, dairy producer Vinamilk’s total revenue and profit in the first half of 2020 still rose 3-7 percent on-year, CEO Mai Kieu Lien has said.

In the first six months of 2020, Vietnam Dairy Products JSC (Vinamilk) earned 14.6 trillion VND (628.7 million USD) worth of total revenue and 2.9 trillion VND (124.9 million USD) worth of profit.

Modest earnings growth this year was attributed to the downturn of income brought by the school milk programme as schools were shut to cope with the pandemic, Lien told the firm’s annual shareholder meeting on June 26.

"When schools re-opened in May, the situation became better but performance was still below the expectation," she said, adding that "Earnings may improve in the last two quarters of the year."

Vinamilk targets 59.6 trillion VND in total revenue this year, up 5.7 percent on-year, and profit is forecast to gain only 1 percent on-year to 10.69 trillion VND.

In the first quarter of 2020, Vinamilk reported total revenue rose 7 percent on-year to 14.2 trillion VND and profit was down slightly to 2.78 trillion VND.

A 50 percent cash dividend is set for 2020, divided into three separate tranches. Two advance tranches will be made in October 2020 and February 2021, with corresponding pay-out ratios of 20 percent and 10 percent. The schedule and pay-out ratio for the third tranche will be decided in the 2021 annual general meeting of shareholders.

The cash dividend pay-out rate for 2019 was 45 percent.

The largest dairy producer by market value will also issue 348 million shares to shareholders this year at a five-to-one ratio, meaning every shareholder will receive one new share for every five shares they have.

The share issuance will raise Vinamilk’s charter capital by 3.38 trillion VND to 17.4 trillion VND.

A new cattle farm in Quang Ngai province will come into operation this year and Vinamilk is planning to build more in Dong Nai province, the centrally-run city of Can Tho, and Laos.

New products for dietary customers will also be studied and developed.

Vinamilk this year is planning to launch a coffee and dining store chain with the brand “Hi-Café”. A store was opened in 2019 at the firm’s headquarters in District 7, HCM City. The chain will be enlarged this year.

The chain would be developed based on Vinamilk’s milk retail system with 430 stores being allocated across the country, Lien said.

Vinamilk and consumer staples firm Kido have recently announced a partnership deal that establishes a joint-venture business, in which Vinamilk holds 51 percent of the capital.

Revenue of the joint-venture will be accounted by Vinamilk and Kido will enjoy the net profit on its part.

The joint-venture is expected to help both firms step in the beverage sector.

The two firms were hiring an independent auditor to value their products before the joint-venture begins operating, Lien said./.
VNA