Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) has reported a year-on-year post-tax profit jump of 32 per cent to VND2.3 trillion (US$98.92 million) for the fourth quarter of 2018.

The company recorded 5.3 per cent annual growth in net revenue, which reached VND13 trillion for the quarter.

The company’s selling cost was 52.6 per cent of net revenue, down by two percentage points from a year earlier. It posted VND6.16 trillion in combined profit, up 10 per cent from the same period the prior year, and a two percentage point rise in profit margin to 47.4 per cent.

According to the company’s financial statement, released on Thursday, revenue fell by nearly VND20 billion to VND179 billion in the fourth quarter while costs doubled to VND25.2 billion.

According to Vinamilk, the strong gains in post-tax profit were due to the firm’s continued efforts to shake up its business activities and focus on selling products with high added value.

Operation costs, including sale and management costs, were cut. In addition, subsidiary companies and associate businesses performed well and brought higher profits.

General director Mai Kieu Lien said in at a recent meeting with shareholders and investors that the dairy sector had overcome its toughest period and recorded strong growth in the fourth quarter.

Vinamilk recorded a total of VND52.56 trillion in net revenue in 2018, up 3 per cent year on year. However, its post-tax profit slid to VND10.2 trillion from VND10.3 trillion in 2017.

Vinamilk failed to meet its full-year earning targets by 5.3 per cent in revenue and 4.9 per cent in post-tax profit.

As of December 31, 2018, total equity capital and total assets were VND26.3 trillion and VND37.3 trillion, respectively. The company’s total cash was VND1.52 trillion and total savings were VND8.7 trillion.

Vinamilk is the third largest listed company by market capitalisation with more than 1.74 billion shares on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange.

The company’s shares edged down 0.4 per cent to end Thursday at VND135,000 ($5.8) per share, valuing the company at VND235.13 trillion. — VNS