According to the consolidated financial report for the first quarter of 2024 by Mobile World Investment Corporation (code MWG), after the first 3 months of the year, the company recorded net revenue reaching 31,441 billion VND, an increase of 16.5% compared to the same period in 2023, completing 25% of the revenue plan for 2024 of 125,000 billion VND.
It is worth noting that MWG’s after-tax profit in the first quarter of 2024 reached over 902 billion VND, nearly 43 times higher than the same period in 2023, when the company’s profit was only 21 billion VND. This is the highest profit level in the past 6 quarters of Mobile World – since the third quarter of 2022.
Mobile World Group’s revenue in the first quarter of 2024. Source: MWG.
However, also according to the recently announced financial statements, the number of MWG employees as of March 31, 2024 is 60,561, a decrease of 4,853 people compared to the number of 65,414 employees as of December 31, 2023. Previously, in 2023, Mobile World had also said goodbye to about 10,000 employees, bringing the number of employees to its lowest level since 2020.
Regarding the number of stores, compared to the end of February 2024, the total number of Mobile World stores (including Topzone) decreased by 6, Dien May Xanh decreased by 5, and Bach Hoa Xanh decreased by 2. The total number of An Khang Pharmacies and AVA KIDs stores remained unchanged. Only the Era Blue chain in Indonesia increased by 2 stores.
Based on the information provided by the Mobile World Group’s leadership at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on April 13, 2024, this development is perhaps not too surprising. Answering a shareholder’s question about the Group having closed 200 Mobile World and Dien May Xanh stores in 2023, Chairman Nguyen Duc Tai said that the concept of restructuring from the Group’s perspective is a process of “reducing quantity and increasing quality”.
“Reducing quantity means that previously we did 10 things, now cut 5 things, do only 5 things. Increasing quality means having to do the remaining 5 things much better, so that the results will grow“, he explained.
Mobile World Chairman Nguyen Duc Tai speaking at the 2024 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.
To clarify the issue, the Chairman of Mobile World pointed out that in 2023, the process of “reducing quantity and increasing quality” has “penetrated every corner of the Group”, not only in the chains but also in the service sectors. They have cut the inefficient parts, spending time, effort, and money on important areas. As a result, the number of stores decreased, personnel decreased, and resources decreased, but revenue in the first quarter increased by nearly 17%.
“This process is not done once and then disappears, but it is a new culture, happening continuously“, emphasized Mr. Nguyen Duc Tai.
“If you expect this process to end, from now on MWG will no longer have any restructuring, then you do not understand the intention that I am implementing. The process will be renewed every 6 months to 1 year, to ensure that we have nothing redundant in the body, ensuring that everything that is retained is effective. Thus, we will have an efficient, delicious, and strong organization“, the Chairman said.
Bach Hoa Xanh is currently considered the “trump card” of Mobile World. In the first 3 months of the year, this supermarket chain achieved revenue of over 9,100 billion VND, an increase of 44% compared to the same period. Average revenue reached 1.8 billion VND/store/month. The revenue growth momentum comes from both fresh food and FMCGs.
“The indicators of operating efficiency and absolute profit of TGDĐ/ĐMX have all recorded positive changes after 6 months of strong implementation of restructuring, reviewing all operations, aiming for efficiency and efficiency“, MWG’s report states.
