South Vietnamese Lottery Companies Make Huge Profits, Payouts Exceeding 50% of Revenue

     
    

Strong Revenue Growth

    

The 2023 financial report shows that the revenue of Can Tho Lottery State-owned One-Member Limited Liability Company reached over VND 5,749 billion, an increase of more than 11.1% compared to 2022.

    

Due to the nature of lottery activities, prize expenses account for a large share of the structure, up to a maximum of 50% to 60% depending on the type of lottery. In 2023, this figure for Can Tho Lottery is over VND 3,077 billion, equivalent to about 53.5% of total revenue.

    

The direct issuance cost of Can Tho Lottery in 2023 is also relatively high, reaching over VND 1,058 billion, accounting for more than 18.4% of total revenue. Meanwhile, the cost of goods, products, and services is extremely low, only slightly over VND 11.2 billion, equivalent to less than 0.2% of total revenue.

    

After deducting taxes and fees, the net profit from business activities of Can Tho Lottery in 2023 is over VND 732 billion, an increase of over VND 131 billion compared to 2022 (an increase of 21%).

    

     
        

 
            
        

     
        
        

The Headquarters of Ben Tre Lottery State-owned One-Member Limited Liability Company. Photo: Bentre.gov.vn

            

    

Similarly, the Can Tho Lottery State-owned One-Member Limited Liability Company and General Services in Dong Nai province also achieved double-digit business growth. Specifically, the financial report shows that the revenue of Dong Nai Lottery in 2023 reached VND 5,815 billion, an increase of 11.1% compared to 2022.

    

The operating costs of Dong Nai Lottery are over VND 4,179 billion. In which, the prize expenses amount to over VND 3,115 billion, accounting for 53.5% of the structure, and the issuance costs amount to over VND 1,063 billion, accounting for over 18.2% of the structure.

    

Due to the increase in issuance costs and business management costs compared to 2022, although the revenue increased by 11.1%, the net profit from business activities of Dong Nai Lottery in 2023 reached only VND 859.3 billion, an increase of nearly VND 2 billion compared to 2022 which is VND 857.4 billion.

    

Like the aforementioned provinces and cities, in 2023, the Ben Tre Lottery State-owned One-Member Limited Liability Company recorded impressive revenue. According to the report, in 2023, Ben Tre Lottery recorded revenue of over VND 5,776 billion, compared to VND 5,002 billion in 2022, an increase of over 11.5%.

    

The prize expenses of Ben Tre Lottery also account for 53.3%, with more than VND 3,079 billion. The net profit from business activities in 2023 is VND 728 billion, an increase of over VND 88 billion compared to 2022.

    

Occupying a large market share, the revenue of Ho Chi Minh City Lottery State-owned One-Member Limited Liability Company in the first 6 months of 2023 reached over VND 6,093 billion, also increasing nearly 12% compared to the same period last year.

    

Due to increased operating costs and selling prices, the semi-annual post-tax profit of the Ho Chi Minh City Lottery for 2023 reached VND 661 billion, compared to over VND 736 billion in the same period last year, a decrease of 10%.

    

In Bến Tre province, the lottery business revenue in the first 6 months of 2023 also reached over VND 2,908 billion, compared to over VND 2,537 billion in the same period last year, an increase of over 11%. The after-tax profit also increased from VND 307 billion to 362 billion, an increase of over 11%…

    

Pawnbroking, Lending, and Depositing in Banks

    

In addition to revenue from operating activities, the aforementioned lottery companies also recorded significant revenue from financial activities due to having a large amount of idle money.

    

Specifically, as of December 31, 2023, the Can Tho Lottery has over VND 600 billion deposited in banks. In which, VND 330 billion is deposited at 6 commercial banks for a 3-month term with an interest rate from 2.6% per year to 4.75% per year; VND 225 billion is deposited at 4 banks with interest rates ranging from 4.25% per year to 8.8% per year.

    

In addition, Can Tho Lottery has over VND 50 billion in a bank account.

    

Thanks to that, in 2023, Can Tho Lottery recorded revenue from financial activities of over VND 34.8 billion, compared to over VND 14.8 billion in 2022.

    

Similarly, Dong Nai Lottery also has a large amount of money, with over VND 987.6 billion deposited in banks, with interest rates ranging from 3.7% per year to 7.25% per year. As a result, in 2023, Dong Nai Lottery recorded revenue from financial activities of over VND 74.1 billion.

    

On the other hand, the idle money of Ben Tre Lottery is being used and managed inefficiently, and the report does not provide detailed and transparent information like the above-mentioned two units.

    

Specifically, as of June 30, 2023, Ben Tre Lottery has an amount of money and equivalent money totaling over VND 766.2 billion. According to the report, Ben Tre Lottery only has over VND 3.3 billion clearly deposited at 3 banks.

    

The remaining amount is over VND 762.8 billion, showing only deposits at banks with interest rates ranging from 3.1% to 4.65% for a 3-month term but doesn’t specify which banks they are deposited in.

    

Another noteworthy point is that Ben Tre Lottery has off-balance sheet items totaling over VND 440 billion. In which, over VND 437.5 billion is lent to individuals on the basis of mortgage of assets and documents, including Vo Thi Ngoc Huong, Vu Thi Cuc Chi, Van Huu Luan, Tran Thi Trang, Phan Van Anh, Tran Bich Van, Phan Van Thai… According to the report, these individuals are all customers of Ben Tre Lottery.

    

The above off-balance sheet items are also recorded in previous years, such as VND 394.3 billion in 2022, VND 301.9 billion in 2021, VND 328 billion in 2020, VND 284 billion in 2019, VND 251 billion in 2018…

    

Due to inefficient management, despite having a large amount of money reaching VND 766.2 billion, the revenue from financial activities of Ben Tre Lottery in the first 6 months of 2023 reached only over VND 14.1 billion.

    

In 2022, the money and equivalent money reached over VND 698 billion, and the revenue from financial activities reached VND 22.4 billion; in 2021, these figures were VND 491.6 billion and VND 17.6 billion, respectively…