The Silent Shareholder: Over 5% of “Mobifone” Family Sold in a Week

Mr. Nguyen Duy Hung, a private shareholder, has recently announced the sale of 30,500 MFS shares of Mobifone Service JSC (Mobifone Service) on July 4th to address personal financial needs. Following this transaction, Mr. Hung’s ownership stake in Mobifone Service has decreased to below 11%.

This is the fourth time this shareholder has sold MFS shares since the end of June. According to transaction reports, before June 28th, Mr. Hung held 1,148,840 MFS shares (a 16.27% stake). Thus, this individual has net sold 374,100 MFS shares, equivalent to approximately 5.3% of Mobifone Service’s capital, within just one week.

Mr. Hung is a rather discreet investor with no related insiders at Mobifone Service. Following these transactions, he remains the second largest shareholder in Mobifone Service, only after Mobifone Telecommunications, which holds 31.26% of the capital.

In the market, MFS shares started to surge in mid-May, with consecutive shocking gains. The share price nearly tripled in a month and reached a new historical peak of VND 74,300/share on June 21st. At this point, MFS quickly reversed and continued to plummet.

The large shareholder’s continuous divestment comes as the share price has already dropped significantly from its peak. According to MFS’s price range during the transaction period, Mr. Hung is estimated to have earned approximately VND 18 billion from this capital reduction.

Currently, MFS’s market price stands at VND 43,800/share, a 41% decrease from its peak but still 71% higher than its price before the surge. Mobifone Service’s market capitalization is approximately over VND 300 billion.

Regarding business plans, according to the minutes of the 2024 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held on June 27th, Mobifone Service aims for a total revenue of over VND 395 billion and a profit after tax of more than VND 15 billion in 2024, a decrease of 3% and 26%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

The management of Mobifone Service also anticipates challenges in 2024, including declining revenues from core services, increasing regional minimum wages leading to higher labor costs, and more. Therefore, in the event of failing to meet the plan, the company sets a minimum profit after tax target of approximately VND 12.5 billion.

In 2023, Mobifone Service achieved VND 307 billion in revenue and VND 20 billion in profit after tax, a decrease of 26% and 10%, respectively, compared to 2022. With these results, the company failed to meet its targets. Consequently, Mobifone Service agreed to pay a 25% cash dividend for 2023, lower than the 30% rate in 2022.