Brewer Sabeco sees profit rising 25 pct

By Tat Dat April 28, 2022 | 01:30 am PT

Bottles of beer move along a production line at a factory of Saigon Beer Corporation (Sabeco) in Hanoi, Vietnam June 23, 2017. Photo by Reuters/Kham

Saigon Beer brewer Sabeco saw its post-tax profit rising 25 percent year-on-year to VND1.2 trillion ($52.27 million) in Q1 thanks to the resumption of tourism and services.

The biggest brewer in Vietnam saw revenue rising by the same rate to over VND7.3 trillion, while also managing to cut sales and management costs by over 10 percent.

It has now achieved a quarter of its targets for the year.

The company expects strong recovery this year after two years of Covid-19, but still expects difficulties amid tightened alcohol regulations that could have long-term impacts on its sales.

It has noticed that consumers seem to be switching to lower-priced products due to dwindling income, which means it would face more competition in claiming market share.

Analysts of Mirae Asset Vietnam brokerage said that the profit margin of beverage companies might be reduced this year due to the rising price of sugar, plastics, aluminum and other ingredients.

Sabeco leaders said that the company had secured purchase contracts for ingredients before and therefore its finances would be safe for this year. However, rising prices will still be a risk in the upcoming years and the company will find a way to increase revenues.

Its ticker SAB has risen over 11 percent this year to VND169,000 Wednesday.