Masan posts record profit, bets on the rise of rural retail

Masan Group Corp. (MSN), Vietnam’s retail and consumer heavyweight, has reported record-breaking results for 2025, marking a definitive shift from a traditional FMCG manufacturer to an integrated consumer-retail-tech ecosystem.

Consolidated net revenue for 2025 reached VND 81,621 billion, up 8.7% year-on-year. Notably, Net Profit After Tax Pre-Minority Interest (NPAT Pre-MI) surged to VND 6,764 billion—a 1.6-fold increase over 2024, exceeding the annual target by 139%. These results are seen as a critical turning point, validating Chairman Nguyen Dang Quang’s "Consumer-Retail-Tech" strategy.

WinCommerce: When retail becomes a cash engine

After years of investment and restructuring, WinCommerce (WCM), the operator of WinMart and WinMart+, has officially become the group’s "growth engine." WCM’s revenue hit VND 38,979 billion, up 18.3%.

The most significant milestone was WCM achieving net-cash-positive status for the first time, allowing the chain to expand aggressively without weighing down the balance sheet. With 764 new store openings during the year, bringing the total to 4,592 points of sale, WCM now commands the largest modern retail network in Vietnam.

The "rural offensive" strategy has paid off. WinMart+ stores in rural areas recorded Like-for-Like (LFL) revenue growth of 14.3%. The operating efficiency of these stores has reached nearly 90% of their urban counterparts, unlocking a massive potential market for Masan heading into 2026.

While retail and chilled meat (Masan MEATLife) flourished, the consumer goods arm (Masan Consumer - MCH) showed a slight absolute contraction. MCH profit declined 14.6% to VND 6,764 billion. However, analysts view this as a "technical" dip due to lower financial income following a large cash dividend payout, rather than a weakening of core business capabilities. In fact, the convenience foods and Home & Personal Care (HPC) sectors continued to maintain double-digit growth.

Masan MEATLife (MML) recorded a spectacular turnaround, with profits increasing 24.4 times compared to the previous year. Close synergy with the WinMart system helped MML capture a 61% market share of the animal protein category within the retail chain.

In the mining sector, Masan High-Tech Materials (MSR) moved past its most difficult phase to return to profitability. Global prices for strategic minerals like Tungsten (APT) surged 52%, which, combined with the successful divestment of the HCS business, allowed MSR to contribute positively to the group’s financial picture.

2026 vision: Digitization and Consolidation

Looking ahead to 2026, Masan aims for continued double-digit profit growth. Mr. Nguyen Dang Quang’s ambitious plan involves merging traditional trade (GT) partners and WinCommerce into a single unified retail platform.

"We will build an end-to-end digital operating system and scale our membership platform to understand 100 million consumers through unified data," Mr. Quang emphasized in the report.

Masan’s improvement of its Net Debt/EBITDA ratio to 2.74x indicates a significantly healthier balance sheet. However, the challenge for the conglomerate will be maintaining momentum in rural areas as competition from both domestic and international rivals heats up.

Nevertheless, by owning a closed ecosystem from production (MCH, MML) to distribution (WCM) and services (Phuc Long, WinLife), Masan holds a definitive advantage in leading the modernization of Vietnam's retail landscape—a market where traditional trade still dominates but is steadily losing ground.

The 2025 profit surge is more than just a number; it is evidence that Masan has completed its "foundation-building" phase and is entering a cycle of harvesting returns from long-term strategic investments.