Sabeco to raise charter capital by issuing more than 641 million bonus shares

The shares will be given to current owners at a rate of one for one, which means that a person who already owns one share will get one more share.

According to the reviewed single financial accounts for 2022, the source of the issue comes from the extra equity and reserved profits as of December 31, 2022. The last day for owners to sign up is September 15, and the date when dividends are no longer paid is September 14.

After the issue is done, Sabeco's charter capital should go from more than VND6.4 trillion ($267.2 million) to nearly VND12.83 trillion.

Vietnam Beverage Co., Ltd., which owns 53.59 percent of Sabeco's capital, is set to get an extra 343.6 million shares. The Ministry of Industry and Trade, which owns 36 percent of Sabeco's capital, will get nearly 231 million shares.

With a record after-tax profit of VND5.5 trillion in 2022, the company's 2023 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders decided to raise the cash payout by 15% to 50%. This means that each share will be worth VN5,000.

The largest brewery in Vietnam also chose to give owners shares at a rate of 1:1. Since Thaibev purchased the company's share in 2017, this is the highest payout level. 

Sabeco had net sales of VND14.5 trillion and a net profit of over VND2.1 trillion in the first half of the year. This is down 10.9% and 27%, respectively, from the same time last year.

Viet Capital Securities (VCSC) says that Sabeco's business results should get better in the second half of 2023 and in 2024. This is because customer trust is getting better, VAT is going down, and tourism is growing.

Vietcombank Securities Company (VBSC), however, said in a more cautious study in June that the short-term picture for the beer business is likely to slow down in 2023 as consumers cut back on spending.

Even though input costs are high, Sabeco's executive board thinks that the company's gross profit margin will stay the same this year. The company also thinks that input costs will go down in 2024 and other cost-optimization steps will help boost profit margins.

Sabeco wants to make VND14.5 trillion in sales and more than VND2.2 trillion after taxes in 2023.

Sabeco's shares are sold on the stock market at the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) under the ticker code SAB. SAB ended trading on Thursday with a share price of VND153,500, a gain of 2.27 percent.