Fahasa estimates 90 per cent drop in profit due to COVID-19

April 27, 2020 | 18:14

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After closing a successful 2019 with great expenses for expansion, the Fahasa boat is rocked by the COVID-19 pandemic and the company is forced to revise its business targets for this year.

fahasa estimates 90 per cent drop in profit due to covid 19

Fahasa foresees great impact from the virus this year

Ho Chi Minh City Book Distribution JSC (Fahasa), thanks to accelerating investment in its online shopping site and expanding its scale, reported a fruitful past year. However, 2020, with the pressure of COVID-19, is forecast to be a lot more difficult for the firm. That is also the reason why it estimates a plunge of 90 per cent in this year’s profit.

Fahasa runs 112 book stores worth VND1.036 trillion ($45 million) across the country. In 2019, the company reported VND3.707 trillion ($161.17 million) in revenue, up 17 per cent on-year, exceeding the annual target by 6 per cent. Its profit also reached VND30.5 billion ($1.33 million), up 8 per cent on-year, exceeding the target by 2 per cent.

The firm last year poured a great amount of capital into expansion, including rejuvenating the image and design of its book stores. Moreover, each establishment is now about 1,000-2,500 square metres large with a separate area for reading books and relaxing.

Fahasa even broke into overseas markets by launching the Kyobo book store at Seoul (South Korea) in November 2019.

Nevertheless, the pandemic has forced the firm to take several measures to cope with the challenges, including downgrading its business target for this year. Accordingly, Fahasa foresees the revenue of VND2.6 trillion ($113 million), down nearly 30 per cent on-year. Moreover, the profit is expected to reach VND3 billion ($130,430), down about 90 per cent on-year.

Fahasa’s audited report showed that it holds VND260 billion ($11.3 million) in cash and bank deposits, equaling 25 per cent of its total assets. Its inventory is valued at VND651 billion ($28.3 million).

By Van Anh

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