PAN Group achieves 14.7 trillion VND revenue in 2024 with natural agriculture solutions

Ambitious growth expectations in the food segment

At the annual shareholders' meeting of PAN Group held on the evening of April 26, Mr. Nguyen Duy Hung, Chairman of the Board of Directors, stated that the company will focus on developing core production capacities in each of its business segment on existing platforms, and seizing favorable market opportunities to navigate future scenarios from 2020 to 2025.

During the presentation of the Executive Board's report on business organization activities, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tra My, General Director of PAN Group, revealed that the company's consolidated net revenue reached 13.205 trillion Vietnamese dong in 2023, marking a slight decrease of 3.3% compared to 2022.

The slight decline in revenue was primarily attributed to market fluctuations affecting the seafood and packaged food segments, which saw decreases of 11% and 8% respectively. However, this decline was offset by a 9% growth in the agricultural sector. Notably, the agrochemical, seed, and packaged rice segments saw significant growth due to favorable pricing and increased market demand.

Despite a slight decrease in revenue and gross profit, PAN Group saw significant improvements in net profit, which increased by 3.1%. Additionally, the company's business efficiency has exhibited exceptional growth, as post-tax profits attributable to shareholders rose by 9% to reach 408 billion Vietnamese dong, surpassing set targets.

According to Ms. Tra My, PAN Group has set cautious targets for 2024 in response to the challenging economic landscape. Namely, the 2024 annual shareholders' meeting approved a business plan with a gross revenue of 14.780 trillion Vietnamese dong and post-tax profit of 882 billion Vietnamese dong, which represent increases of 12% and 8% respectively compared to 2023. The target post-tax profit for the parent company's shareholders is 447 billion Vietnamese dong, marking an increase of 10% compared to 2023.

PAN Group sets an ambitious growth target for its food segment, with an expected increase of 17%. This figure was driven by global market recovery and positive signals from new products within the export market.

Similarly, the company's agricultural segment is expecting a growth rate of 16%, which is primarily supported by the branded rice and agrochemical segments. On the other hand, the seafood segment aims for a slight increase of 5% compared to 2023, reflecting the market's ongoing challenges and low pricing.

During the annual shareholders' meeting, Ms. Tra My disclosed promising financial results for the first quarter of 2024. Accordingly, gross revenue for the first quarter reached 3.462 trillion Vietnamese dong, marking an increase of 36.8% compared to the same period in 2023. This remarkable growth was attributed to the robust performance across all business segments, with each experiencing growth rates ranging from 30% to 45%. Notably, shrimp exports contributed to 42% of the company's total revenue, marking an increase of 45% compared to the first quarter of 2023; the agrochemical segment contributed to 28% of the company's total revenue, marking an increase of 40%.

Post-tax profit reached 169 billion Vietnamese dong, marking an increase of 58% compared to 2023. Post-tax profit for the parent company's shareholders reached 84 Vietnamese billion dong, marking an increase of over 100% compared to the first quarter of 2023.

Proactive approach with natural agriculture solutions

In response to shareholders' concerns regarding rising food prices, climate change, and saltwater intrusion, Ms. Tran Kim Lien, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Vinaseed and a member of PAN Group, emphasized their significant risk to the Vietnam's agricultural sector as a whole. She stated that the corporation will choose "nature-friendly" solutions to adapt to these changes.

"We have proactively and promptly transformed our crop structure to adapt to climate change. In addition to rice - shrimp seed varieties, PAN Group is developing drought-tolerant and salt-tolerant seed varieties. We view climate change not only as a challenge, but also as an opportunity to adapt and thrive," Ms. Lien remarked.

Furthermore, Ms. Lien revealed that in 2024, PAN Group will commercialize and implement sustainable development solutions extensively throughout its production and supply chain. Accordingly, the company will initiate its preparation phase starting from 2025. This initiative is PAN Group's preparation for unforeseeable changes and disruptions.

"Moreover, the Government and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development have introduced multiple macroeconomic policies to support agricultural production. Recently, the Sustainable Development Project for one million hectares of high-quality rice production in the Mekong Delta has raised a funding of 600 billion USD for businesses within the value chain. PAN Group is taking preliminary steps in order to capitalize this opportunity," added Ms. Lien.

Sharing the same vision, another member of the PAN Group, Mr. Ho Quoc Luc, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sao Ta Food Joint Stock Company, emphasized that the company has identified opportunities amidst the challenges of saltwater intrusion and drought to expand shrimp production areas.

Consequently, Sao Ta company harvested 5,000 tons of shrimp, for a total profit of 50 billion Vietnamese dong in 2023. These figures demonstrated that Sao Ta, as a member of PAN Group, is capable of adapting and capitalizing on natural agriculture solutions.

Distributing dividends at 5%

In 2023, PAN Group possessed nearly 1,000 billion Vietnamese dong worth of maturing bonds. Despite encountering numerous challenges throughout the year, the company successfully met all bond obligations on time, without resorting to external loans.

With the promising profit outlook in 2023, PAN Group plans to distribute dividends in cash at a rate of 5% of face value. Furthermore, the company aims to maintain this minimum dividend rate in the following years to protect shareholders' interests. On the other hand, PAN Group plans to sustain its cash dividend policy and gradually increase the rate over time.