Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are currently the two largest cities in Vietnam, and are also home to the largest populations in the country. The development of these two cities along with their dense populations have led to high real estate prices due to a lack of supply, making them a “gold mine” for real estate businesses to implement projects.
However, in the past year, large real estate companies with “big” projects in the country’s two largest cities such as Vinhomes, Novaland, Hung Thinh, Phat Dat… have been greatly impacted by the downturn in the overall market. In contrast, some companies that invested in real estate projects in provinces other than Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City unexpectedly “won big” in the past year.
The first company that can be mentioned is Lideco Urban Development Joint Stock Company (Lideco, stock code: NTL). In the fourth quarter of 2023, the company recorded revenue of nearly VND 747 billion, a 10-fold increase compared to the same period last year, accounting for 82% of the total revenue for 2023. Gross profit reached VND 488 billion, with a gross profit margin increasing significantly from 13.3% to 65.3%. As a result, Từ Liêm House reported a post-tax profit of VND 363 billion, 279 times higher than the fourth quarter of 2022.
The company attributed the increase in profit in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the fourth quarter of 2022 to the fact that the Bai Muoi urban area project in Cao Thang Ward, Ha Khanh, and Ha Lam – Ha Long City had met the conditions for sales. The company recorded revenue from the partially sold Bai Muoi, Quang Ninh project.
With the breakthrough results in the fourth quarter, the accumulated revenue and profit of Từ Liêm House reached VND 914 billion and VND 367 billion respectively, an increase of 134% and 244% compared to 2022. EPS increased from VND 1,746 per share to VND 6,014 per share. This was also the record profit level of the company in the past year.
According to research, the Bai Muoi urban area has a scale of 23 hectares with a construction density of 48%, including adjacent villas, commercial townhouses, low-income apartments, and accompanying amenities such as playgrounds, kindergartens, schools, parks, green trees… The project broke ground on March 6, 2018. The adjacent villas have an area of 80 – 120 square meters per lot and the apartments have an area of 40 – 70 square meters per unit.
The project started selling from early December 2023. Within just one month of bringing the new project to the market, Lideco was able to record revenue. Previously, the main project that brought revenue to this investor was the new Bac QL32 urban area (Hoai Duc district, Hanoi).
Another real estate company that has won big thanks to projects in the province is Mekong Group (VC3). In 2023, the company recorded revenue of VND 806 billion, a 57% increase compared to the same period last year. After deducting costs, the company’s post-tax profit was VND 142 billion, almost double the same period. This is also the new profit record of Mekong Group.
According to research, Mekong Group’s increased profits in the past year mainly came from the Bao Ninh 2 urban area project (La Celia City), located in Bao Ninh peninsula, Dong Hoi city, Quang Binh province. The project along the Nhật Lệ River has a total investment capital of over VND 5,500 billion.
La Celia City project.
Instead of simply dividing the land and selling it, La Celia City is built with completed exterior construction and includes full landscape amenities such as a music fountain square, landscape lake, green parks… Additionally, according to research, this project has complete documents for buyers. The project has been handed over to customers since the end of 2022, resulting in a new peak profit for Mekong Group in 2023.
In addition to Mekong Group and Từ Liêm House, another noteworthy case is CNT Group (CNT). Specifically, in 2023, the company recorded revenue of VND 364 billion, a 13% decrease compared to the same period. Thanks to an increase in financial revenue, the company had a pre-tax profit of nearly VND 254 billion, a 12% increase compared to the previous year. This is also the new profit record of this company.
According to CNT Group’s explanation, the company’s profit in the last quarter increased due to an increase in interest income, cost of business management. Additionally, the company also recorded revenue from the respective scheduled payment from customers who had purchased real estate products at the new Ha Tien urban area project.
Ha Tien new urban area is located on National Highway 80, at the To Chau Bridge, Phao Dai Ward, Ha Tien town, Kien Giang province. To the North, the project borders Provincial Road 28, to the South is the East Ho Beach with a coastline of nearly 3 km, to the East is Hà Tiên urban area, to the West are Bai No port and Soc Tre mountain.
The project is built on land with a total area of 98.06 hectares. The urban area has diverse products such as residential land, villas, resorts, traffic land, commercial and service land…
Finally, another company worth mentioning is CIC Group (CKG). In the past year, this company brought in revenue of VND 1,300 billion, pre-tax profit of VND 207 billion, a decrease of 10% and 4% respectively compared to the previous year. Although there was a slight decrease in the business results of this company, this is also the second-highest profit level of CIC Group.
According to the company’s explanation, in the past year, real estate markets faced many difficulties, so businesses hesitated to invest in projects in Kien Giang. Thanks to this, CIC Group accelerated the sale of houses in qualified projects.
