Vietnam’s biggest brewer reports surge in profits

By Hung Le July 29, 2019 | 08:48 pm PT

Cans of beer move along a production line at a factory of Sabeco in Hanoi. Photo by Reuters/Kham.

Sabeco reported second quarter post-tax profit of VND1.53 trillion ($66.03 million), the highest quarterly profit in three years.

It was up 19 percent year-on-year though revenue was slightly down at VND9.18 trillion ($369 million), according to the brewer’s consolidated business report.

The surge in bottom line was mainly due to a 37 percent surge in income from financial activities to VND198.8 billion ($8.6 million).

In the first half of the year Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage Corp (Sabeco) reported profits of VND2.66 trillion ($114.8 million) on revenues of VND18.42 trillion ($795 million).

ThaiBev’s H1 reports show revenues of VND25.3 trillion ($1.09 billion) from its Vietnam operations mainly from beer produced by Sabeco, with some income also coming from food, packaging and glassware companies ThaiBev owns in the country. Thai food and beverage conglomerate ThaiBev acquired a 53.59 percent stake in Sabeco in 2017.

The group said Sabeco was its main growth driver, given slowing consumption elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

As of last year Sabeco had a 42.8 percent share of the Vietnamese beer market, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Securities Corporation.