Habeco reports losses for the first time in three years

May 06, 2023 | 09:00

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In the first quarter of 2023, Habeco - the owner of the Hanoi Beer and Truc Bach Beer brands - reported VND3.7 billion ($158,000) in consolidated losses due to the dual effects of changes in alcohol content policy and a sharp increase in input costs.

Hanoi Beer report loss for the first time over the last three years

Habeco's net revenue decreased by 13.5 per cent on-year in the same period to VND1.17 trillion ($50 million), which is the lowest reported by the company since the first quarter of 2020.

At that time, Habeco's revenue reached a bottom of around VND770 billion ($33 million) due to the double impact of Covid-19 and a decree that raised penalties for administrative road traffic offences and rail transport offences that had just come into effect. This pushed Habeco's losses to about VND100 billion ($4.3 million) for the year and was the first time the beer giant has reported a loss in ten years.

Habeco's financial statement explained that these quarter's losses were caused by tight controls on alcohol content policies, as well as a drop in consumer spending.

Moreover, input costs for the company also rose sharply compared to the same period last year, such as the price of filter aids, hops, sugar, and rice. Malt, in particular, which accounts for the largest proportion of production costs, has increased by about 50 per cent compared to the average purchase price in 2022.

In a similar situation is Sabeco, Habeco's southern competitor, also reporting a decrease in revenue of 15 per cent on-year to around VND6.2 trillion ($264 million). Sabeco made a net profit of about VND1 trillion ($42.6 million) this first quarter, down nearly 20 per cent on-year, its lowest return in six quarters.

However, Sabeco is aiming to grow by 15 per cent in revenue and 5 per cent in profit this year, to reach VND40.25 trillion ($1.72 billion) and VND5.77 trillion ($246 million) respectively, as it aims to hit new peaks.

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By Nguyen Huong

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