Customers shop for vegetables at a VinMart+ store in HCM City. Masan reports strong growth in revenue and profit in the first half. — Photo courtesy of Masan

HCM CITY — Masan Group Corporation’s revenues increased by 16.4 per cent year-on-year in the first half to VNĐ41.2 trillion (US$1.79 billion), primarily due to double-digit organic topline growth in the branded consumer and meat businesses, 1.7 per cent growth in modern retail in the second quarter and 137.6 per cent growth at Masan High-Tech Materials due to consolidation of H.C. Starck and higher commodity prices.

Its consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) in H1 grew 84.1 per cent and EBITDA margins rose to 16.7 per cent from 10.6 per cent a year earlier, primarily driven by VinCommerce’s EBITDA margin improving by 8.48 percentage points to positive 2.1 per cent.

Masan Group EBITDA margins in Q2 rose by 180 basis points from the previous quarter, and are expected to grow further in H2 as strategic investments made in the first half start to yield results.

Net profit after tax post minority interest (NPAT Post-MI) grew 8.4 times in H1 to VNĐ979 billion ($42.68 million), driven by significantly better bottom-line results across all business segments.

Among its subsidiaries, the CrownX, Masan’s integrated consumer-retail platform that consolidates VinCommerce (VCM) and Masan Consumer Holdings (MCH), delivered EBITDA of VNĐ2.85 trillion ($124.2 million) during the first half, more than double the VNĐ1.31 trillion in the same period last year, as EBITDA margins expanded by 610 bps to 11.2 per cent.

VCM has delivered three consecutive quarters of positive EBITDA as it improved from 0.2 per cent in Q4 last year to 2.2 per cent in Q2 this year.

It delivered a 2.1 per cent EBITDA margin for H1, up 848 basis points from a year earlier, driven by total commercial margin improvement, store operating costs optimisation, logistics initiatives, and management plans to achieve break-even EBIT in Q3.

The trial of setting up Phúc Long kiosks inside VinMart+ stores has shown positive signs with lesser time required for new stores to break even.

MCH’s net revenues grew by 11.7 per cent in H1 to VNĐ11.47 trillion ($499.7 million) driven by an innovation-led growth strategy.

Masan MEATLife’s meat category has become a sizeable standalone business, contributing VNĐ2.07 trillion in revenues and VNĐ163 billion in EBITDA, including 3F Viet.

The next milestone is to deliver positive net profits, which management believes will occur by year-end when its meat processing plants reach 25-30 per cent capacity utilisation in Q4 this year, up from the current rate of 11 per cent.

Masan High-Tech Materials (MHT) posted net revenues of VNĐ6.1 trillion in H1, a 137.6 per cent increase year-on-year.

It delivered VNĐ2 billion in net profits for Q2, a VNĐ295 billion improvement over Q1 driven by rising demand for its hi-tech products and higher pricing for all segments.

Management believes tungsten prices will continue to rise in H2, further improving the financial performance.

Techcombank, MSN’s associated company, delivered profit before tax growth of 71.2 per cent to reach VNĐ11.5 trillion in H1 driven by net interest margin (NIM) of 5.81 per cent and 46.1 per cent CASA (current account and savings account) ratio.

MSN achieved 44.8 per cent of its lower-end revenue target of VNĐ92 trillion ($4 billion) and 39.1 per cent of its lower-end profit target of VNĐ2.5 trillion ($108.8 million) for full-year 2021.

It expects to deliver over 20 per cent topline growth and double profit margins in Q3.

Chairman Dr Nguyễn Đăng Quang, said, “I am extremely grateful for the thousands of Masaners who are making sacrifices every day to ensure that each and every VinMart is open to serve our consumers and that each essential product we produce is readily available.

“During these trying, emotional and stressful times, we are committed to providing our people their daily needs to the best of our abilities and beyond. We will play our part to uplift the spirits of our people as Vietnam tackles this pandemic. We will ‘Keep Going’ to deliver on our promise." — VNS