Vietnamese beer sales now drive revenues for Sabeco's new Thai owner

For the quarter ended December 31, 2018, it reported sales of VND13 trillion ($560.58 million) as ThaiBev announced net profits of VND5.54 trillion ($238.83 million) on total revenues of VND54.28 trillion ($2.34 billion), 35 percent and 60 percent up year-on-year.

Beer products became its revenue driver for the first time with sales of VND24.84 trillion ($1.07 billion). Though spirits sales saw strong growth, their share of revenues dropped from 54 percent to 43 percent.

In terms of sales by market, the group reported 52 billion baht ($1.66 billion) in Thailand, down to 71 percent from 96 percent last year. The other significant amount was Vietnam’s VND13 trillion or 23.9 percent. 

ThaiBev said while consumption in Southeast Asia is generally slowing, Sabeco has sustained impressive growth.

Two months ago the Thai group became the majority shareholder in the Vietnamese brewer with a 53.59 percent stake following a debt-to-equity swap.

It believes the acquisition of Sabeco would help its expansion in Vietnam, which has a youthful population, extensive distribution network and the strongest beer market growth in the region.

Sabeco, formally known as Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage Corp, reported a 5 percent rise in revenues last year to more than VND36 trillion ($1.56 billion). 

It has a 42.8 percent share of the Vietnamese beer market, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Securities Corporation.

According to the Vietnam Beverage Association (VBA), the Vietnamese beer market is worth $3.4 billion.

Securities company FPT Securities predicts the market will grow by 5-6 percent a year.