Cooking oil producer Tuong An Vegetable Oil Joint Stock Company (TAC) announced an increase in the dividend for last year to 24 per cent from the earlier plan of 16 per cent at its annual shareholders meeting on April 16.

It came on the back of outstanding business results, with pre-tax profits growing by over 98 per cent to VND166 billion (US$7.3 million).

Revenues only rose by 9 per cent to VND4.3 trillion ($188 million).

The company attributed the results to the strong growth in the economy and the cooking oil market.

Nguyen Thi Hanh, chairwoman of TAC, said: “The cooking oil industry is expected to grow by 8.7 per cent in 2015-20. Consumption in Viet Nam is still lower than in neighbouring countries.”

TAC last year made changes to its product portfolio with a focus on healthy products, she said.

Hanh also hailed the merger with food producer KIDO Group.

“The merger with KIDO has helped us develop our logistics and distribution systems.”

She said the company was now the second biggest cooking oil producer.

The meeting also approved a 24 per cent dividend for this fiscal year. In 2018, TAC targets pre-tax profits of VND250 billion on revenues of VND5.1 trillion ($223.6 million).

Hanh told the meeting that the targets were challenging but achievable since demand remained huge.

TAC plans to enter new segments with a focus on high-end products to meet the relentlessly growing demand for healthy products, she revealed.

“We will partner with domestic and foreign investors to enter the canned/packaged products market including sugar, instant noodles, sauces and spices.”

The company would continue to expand its distribution system, she said.

TAC, established in 1977, has two plants in Nghe An Province’s Vinh City and Ba Ria–Vung Tau Province. — VNS