HCM City (VNA) - The Masan Group Corporation (Masan),which saw an increase of more than 57 percent in profit last year, has set atarget of double-digit growth for 2019.

Its profits totalled 3.47 trillion VND (151.2million USD) last year. Masan launched its branded fresh meatplatform “MEATDeli” in 2018, and shifted Masan Nutri-Science to a fast-movingconsumer-goods (FMCG) business, driving long-term revenue and profitabilitygrowth across pig price cycles. Masan expects net revenue growth of 18-30 percentin the 2019 financial year.

“With the launch of MEATDeli, MasanNutri-Science will become a branded FMCG business by converting the $10.2billion pork meat market through setting the new standard for safe fresh andprocessed meat products,” said chairman and CEO Nguyen Dang Quang.

Masan Consumer, Masan’s key subsidiary, hasachieved a new record for the business. Premium product sales in seasoningsdelivered growth of 40 percent for the 2018 financial year and accounted for 10percent of the portfolio. 

The seasonings portfolio’s net revenue grew by34.9 percent for the financial year and 25.5 percent for the fourth quarter of2018 against the same period in 2017, while convenience foods premium portfoliodelivered 50 percent growth for the financial year and represented 40 percentof the group’s portfolio, up 29.3 percent for the year, and 17.4 percent forthe fourth quarter of 2018 against the same period the previous year.

In the beverage segment, net revenue increasedby 55.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018 and 36.4 percent for the 2018financial year, led by energy drinks. 

The energy drink segment grew by 60 percentyear-on-year due to the drink Wakeup 247, improved brand power, and more pointsof sales, from 75,000 last year to 160,000, as of the fourth quarter of 2018.

Instant coffee achieved 643 billion VND (28million USD) in net revenue during the fourth quarter of 2018, up 3.8 percentcompared to the fourth quarter of 2017. For the full year, this segmentachieved 11.5 percent growth in net revenue.

In addition, beer underperformed againstmanagement expectations, net revenue in fourth quarter of 2018 dropped by 33.2 percentyear-on-year, and full year net revenue delivered 23.3 percent growth. 

In the fourth quarter of 2018, Masan Consumerbuilt a dedicated sales force, key to scaling up the business this year. Processed meat delivered 24.5 percent growth innet revenue for the fourth quarter of 2018, but declined by 4.8 percent for the2018 financial year.  The first co-product launched with Jin-Ju in thefourth quarter of 2018, the “Ponnie”, a premium sausage brand, drove fourthquarter sales growth in 2018. 

The innovation pipeline to cater to Vietnamesetastes and preferences for 2019 will be key to driving business growth forMasan.

Masan Resource, another subsidiary of Masan,maintained a high growth momentum with net revenue growth of 47.4 percent inthe fourth quarter of 2018 and 27 percent in the 2018 financial year. 

Masan Resource recently acquired 49 percent ofHC Starck, and renamed it Masan Tungsten Limited Liability Company,contributing to the outstanding performance. Masan Resource plans to increase capacity to12,000 mtu, making it one of the world’s largest mid-stream tungsten producer.

In the new financial year, Masan expects toachieve net revenue of 45.2-50 trillion VND (1.26-2.18 billion USD), a growth of18-31 percent. Masan Resource’s net revenue is expected to growby 20-30 percent. The feed business is expected to grow by 10-15 percent.

Net revenue from fresh meat is expected tocontribute 10 percent of Masan Resource’ consolidated net revenue. A key potential risk would be a pig diseaseoutbreak, which would impact feed sales growth.-VNA