Airport service firm’s IPO only a week away

The public offering is planned for September 18, reported Doan Thi Mai Huong, Sasco’s deputy director, at an event on September 5 to announce the company’s move.

Sasco is also selling 31,034,000 shares, or 23.6 per cent, for an estimated VND310 billion ($14.7 million) to three strategic investors which are all related to Imex Pan Pacific Group, which owns Trang Tien Plaza in Hanoi.

Specifically, Sasco is selling 21 million shares, equal to a 16 per cent stake, to Imex Pan Pacific (IPP), 6.57 million shares (5 per cent) to Duy Anh Fashion and Cosmetics (DAFC) and 3.4 million shares (2.6 per cent) to Au Chau Fashion and Cosmetics (ACFC).

After the sale, Sasco will sell the three firms’ products – cosmetics, garments and consumer goods – at Tan Son Nhat airport.

At the event, Sasco unveiled its plan to expand to outside the airport to sell mostly souvenirs and local specialty food and goods. The firm said it hoped to benefit from its strategic investors’ retail experience.

The reason the company is expanding, according to Sasco, is that while duty free retailing at Tan Son Nhat airport is Sasco’s main source of revenue, Sasco is facing fierce competition in this field from other firms, whose combined commercial area in the airport accounts for around 50 per cent.

Moreover, Tan Son Nhat airport currently services 20 million arrivals per year. In 2015, when the airport expands its two passenger terminals, it will reach its maximum capacity of 25 million arrivals per year. This estimate prompted Sasco to seek a new growth strategy.

Sasco earned VND83 billion ($3.9 million) in pretax profits, up 72.92 per cent on-year, and revenue of VND1.060 trillion ($50.23 million) in the first half of this year. It plans to pay dividends of at least VND900 (4.2 US cent), VND1,100 (5.6 US cent) and VND1,200 (5.8 US cent) each year in the 2014-2016 period and targets VND2.403 trillion ($113.9 million) in revenue and VND185.95 billion ($8.8 million) in net profit in 2016.