Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage Corp (Sabeco), Vietnam’s largest domestic brewer, posted a net profit of VND3.31 trillion (US$141.73 million) during the first nine months of 2018, down 6.5% year-on-year, according to the company’s quarterly consolidated financial statement.
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As of September 30, Sabeco's total assets were worth VND23 trillion (US$985.78 million), of which short-term assets stood at VND15.2 trillion (US$651.38 million) and long-term assets VND7.79 trillion (US$333.83 million).
Sabeco has set its pre-tax profit target in 2018 at VND4 trillion (US$173.2 million), down 19% year-on-year, following a decline in Vietnam's beer consumption. This would be the third consecutive year that Sabeco will experience a decline in profit.
Nevertheless, the company targeted its market share to increase by five percentage points from the current 40%.
Currently, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Vietnam Beverage, a local unit where ThaiBev holds control, own a combined 89.6% stake of Vietnam's largest brewer. Fund manager Dragon Capital holds a minority stake in the beer producer.
Last December, the Vietnamese government sold a nearly 54% stake in Sabeco to Vietnam Beverage for US$4.89 billion. ThaiBev, controlled by tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, through its local unit Vietnam Beverage, purchased 343.42 million shares at the starting price of US$14.05 apiece. The only other bidder, a Vietnamese individual, bought 20,000 shares, or 0.003%, at a price of US$14.07 each.
In 2017, Sabeco alone produced 1.77 billion liters of beer, an increase of 6.6% year-on-year, while the second largest domestic brewer, Habeco (18% market share), brewed 657.6 million liters, down 6.5%.
