Masan Group gains profit increase in the first quarter of this year. — Photo fica.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Masan Group, listed on the HCM City Stock Exchange as MSN, posted an aggregated profit of VND1.082 trillion, or US$51.5 million, in the first quarter of this year.

This is double the profit made in the same period last year.

According to the company's Q1 earnings, Masan had a turnover of VND2.715 trillion, or $129.2 million, a 77 per cent increase of nearly VND1.2 trillion, or $57 million, year over year.

The turnover mainly came from Masan Consumer which contributed VND2.275 trillion, or $108.3 million, a 48 per cent increase due to the growth in sales of instant food, spices and beverages.

Masan Consumer, a major member of the group, earned a net profit of VND492 billion, or $23.4 million, in Q1, nearly twice as high of the profit made during 2013's first quarter.

Nui Phao Mine, in which Masan Group has invested millions of dollars, started to generate revenue from the beginning of March. This was expected to help Masan stay on track to exceed $1 billion in earning revenue this year.

In Q1 this year, Nui Phao Mine brought Masan a turnover of VND440 billion, or 20.9 million.

Notably, Masan's report showed that the company's EBITDA (an indicator of financial performance which tracks earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) posted strong growth in the quarter, rising by 339 per cent to reach VND385 billion, or $18.3 million.

Masan Group is one of the largest private companies in Viet Nam operating in consumption and resources sectors, with a market capitalisation of more than 72 trillion, or $3.5 billion.

As of the end of March, Masan had assets worth VND14.8 trillion, or $704.7 million, and VND7.242 trillion, or $344.8 million, in cash in its balance sheet.

The shares of Masan were traded at VND91,500, or $4.34, a share yesterday. — VNS