Vietnam’s largest brewer Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage Corp. (Sabeco) on November 12 announced that it has removed the limit on foreign ownership.
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Last December, the Vietnamese government sold nearly 54% stake in Sabeco to ThaiBev through its local unit Vietnam Beverage for US$4.89 billion. ThaiBev, controlled by tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, purchased 343.42 million shares at the starting price of US$14.05.
Six months since ThaiBev acquired the major stake in Sabeco, the brewer has brought in VND20.32 trillion (US$875.19 million) in revenue and net profit of VND2.36 trillion (US$101.64 million) to Thailand’s beverage producer.
The amount did not include the 35% of prepayment of 2018 dividends or VND2.24 trillion (US$96.49 million) that ThaiBev is expected to receive in the remaining months of 2018.
Thanks to positive business performance of Sabeco and its affiliates, ThaiBev posted net revenue from sales of goods in the January – June period at VND122.37 trillion (US$5.27 billion), up 22% year-on-year.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade currently stands as the second largest shareholder, holding a 36% stake in Sabeco, while fund manager Dragon Capital owns a minority stake in the beer producer.
Sabeco 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.
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%.
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%.
