Notable Business Metrics in the First Half of 2024
(1) Bookings is a non-GAAP operating metric used by VNG to evaluate the performance of its Online Games segment. It reflects the amount spent by users during the period and is used for calculation purposes.
(2) Quarterly active users, calculated as the average of QAU for the quarters within the calculation period.
(3) Monthly active users, determined by the number of active users during the last 30 days of the calculation period.
(4) Average per day over the last 30 days of the calculation period
In the first half of 2024, the company’s net revenue reached VND 4,314 billion. Gross profit from sales and services amounted to VND 1,511 billion, and adjusted net loss from business operations1 was VND 400 million.
Total bookings for the Online Games segment reached VND 3,613 billion, a slight decrease of 3% compared to 2023. However, total bookings from the international market increased by 23% year-over-year (YoY) and accounted for 28% of the bookings in the Online Games segment.
As of the end of June 2024, Zalo maintained its strong performance with 77 million monthly active users (MAU), a 2% increase year-over-year, and 1.9 billion messages sent daily, representing a 7% YoY growth.
Monthly recurring revenue from external customers (excluding revenue from internal segments) of VNG DB grew by 79% in the first half of 2024.
Zalopay achieved a 42% growth in total payment volume while optimizing marketing costs. Revenue from financial services increased by 190% compared to the same period last year.
Despite market challenges, VNG’s core businesses remain on track and have successfully completed challenging projects: Zalo’s revenue growth with enterprise customers, VNGGames and Zingplay Game Studios’ continuous expansion into foreign markets, the successful commercialization of the AI Cloud segment within just 6 months, and Zalopay’s rebranding as an open payment platform.
Commenting on the financial results for the first six months, Mr. Le Hong Minh, Founder and CEO, emphasized: “It will be a significant challenge for the VNG team in the last six months to balance financial goals with business growth objectives. Nevertheless, I believe that with our capabilities, experience, and determination, the VNG team will continue to conquer challenges and make this 20th anniversary of VNG a memorable one.”
Positive Impact from the B2B Business Segment
In the first half of the year, the core business segment, Zalo, continued to upgrade its products serving enterprise customers, aiming to become the leading platform for user-business interactions in Vietnam. As of the end of June 2024, Zalo has collaborated with multiple banks to integrate money transfer features directly into the app, recording over an 80% growth in monthly active users (MAU) compared to the same period in 2023. Zalo OA remains an effective connector between users and businesses, with a 25% increase in the number of monthly paying businesses compared to 2023.
During the same period, VNG Digital Business (VNG DB) witnessed promising revenue growth and consecutive collaborations with reputable global technology partners such as NVIDIA, ST Telemedia Global Data Centres, and Vast Data.
In the security segment, Bshield2 is currently the pioneering mobile application security solution in Vietnam, participating in protecting data for the national VNeID application. The trueID biometric solution also became the first in Vietnam to pass the iBeta Level 2 anti-spoofing face test3, serving more than 35 domestic banks and financial institutions.
In June, VNG Cloud successfully deployed the first cross-region cloud computing infrastructure in Vietnam with a bandwidth of 50 Gbps and is on track to provide high-quality cloud solutions equivalent to international cloud service providers.
VNG’s Overseas Revenue Growth
The core business segment, Online Games, continued to record promising revenue from the global market. In the first half of 2024, total bookings from the international market increased by 23% year-over-year to VND 1,026 billion. VNGGames was also recognized as the “Best Game Publisher” at the 2024 Vietnam Game Festival hosted by the Ministry of Information and Communications, and received the “Mobile Gaming Excellence Award” from AppsFlyer4.
ZingPlay Game Studios (ZPS) confirmed for the first time that its international revenue from the Card & Board segment surpassed domestic revenue. Building on this success, in the last six months of 2024, ZPS will release over 10 local & casual game titles tailored to the culture of each target country. ZPS also aims to become an “AI-first studio,” stemming from the idea of launching a game studio that utilizes AI and provides users with the tools to create their own games.
Bookings for the Online Games segment from the international market (in VND billion)
In June, the AI Cloud segment of VNG DB, GreenNode5, officially inaugurated its AI Cloud Data Center in Bangkok, Thailand, becoming the first large-scale AI Cloud service provider in Southeast Asia within just six months of deployment. This project simultaneously achieved goals in terms of deployment speed and commercialization, with revenue in the tens of millions of USD coming from international customers.
VNG currently has a total of 14 offices located in 11 major cities across Asia, including Shanghai, Beijing, Taipei, Bangkok, and Singapore.
GreenNode’s large-scale GPU Cloud infrastructure in Bangkok, Thailand
Strengthening Position in the Consumer Segment
Zalo, as Vietnam’s leading messaging application, continues to drive AI research and development, resulting in commercially viable solutions. In the first and second quarters of 2024, Zalo recorded 15 million users experiencing AI services, a 45% increase compared to the same period last year.
During the 2024 Tet holiday, Zalo collaborated with multiple FMCG brands to design AI Avatars, actively supporting their branding campaigns. In terms of revenue, AI Avatar witnessed an impressive 140% growth compared to the set target and is a pioneer in successfully commercializing AI.
Zalo AI Avatar attracts millions of users
On August 22, Adtima (Zalo’s advertising platform) and Zalo AI Lab introduced a new AI-powered marketing and advertising solution, marking their initial transition into providing comprehensive AI solutions focusing on four areas: advertising, creativity, data analysis, and customer care.
Additionally, the Vietnamese assistant, Kiki, continues to be installed in 820,000 vehicles, capturing nearly 20% of the Vietnamese car market share and growing by 97% compared to the same period last year.
In early July, Zalopay, VNG’s electronic payment segment, transformed from a pure e-wallet to an open payment application, accepting various payment methods, including e-wallets, bank transfers, cards, Apple Pay, and Zalopay’s exclusive financial services such as Buy Now, Pay Later. This shift has significantly boosted Zalopay’s payment revenue, and its annual financial services revenue increased by 190% compared to the same period in 2023.
Furthermore, Zalopay launched a loyalty program that allows users to earn reward points when spending through the Zalopay QR multi-purpose code. It also introduced a financial center to help users explore Zalopay’s investment and lending products. With its continuous innovation, Zalopay was recognized as the “Typical Fintech Company 2024”6, and the Zalopay QR multi-purpose code was awarded the “Top 10 Good Vietnamese Products – For the Benefit of Consumers in 2024”7.
About VNG
Founded in 2004, VNG owns Vietnam’s leading digital ecosystem, offering a diverse range of products and services across four main groups: Online Games, Zalo & AI, Electronic Payments, and Digital Transformation. VNG’s mission is to “Build Technology and Develop People. From Vietnam to the World.” The company’s products have revolutionized digital experiences and interactions for millions of Vietnamese and global users. Currently, VNG has nearly 3,600 employees working in 11 cities worldwide.
For more information, please contact:
VNG Corporate Communications Department
Tel: 0974 384 373
1 Adjusted net loss from business operations is a non-GAAP financial metric calculated by excluding the impact of changes in deferred revenue and related costs, and non-operating items from the reported net loss from business operations.
2 Bshield is a mobile application security solution developed by the VNG DB team. To date, Bshield has enhanced protection for over 50 million mobile devices in the Vietnamese market.
3 Certified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the United States.
4 AppsFlyer is a professional marketing analytics platform for mobile applications headquartered in San Francisco, California.
5 GreenNode is a pioneering provider of AI Cloud platforms and developer of GenAI, an AI-powered application development platform, built and operated by the VNG DB team.
6 The “Typical Fintech Company 2024” award is under the framework of the “Vietnam Outstanding Banking Awards” organized by the International Data Group (IDG) Vietnam, in conjunction with the Vietnam Retail Banking Forum and the Vietnam Banks Association.
7 Awarded by the Institute for Economic and Human Resource Development Studies in coordination with the Vietnam Consumer Protection Center.
Bamboo Capital (BCG) surpasses 4,000 billion VND in revenue, reduces debt by 5,500 billion VND by 2023
The amount of debt to be paid has been reduced by more than 5,498 billion VND as the Group has actively settled all borrowings in order to lessen the cost of interest and ensure financial stability for the business.
Viglacera Reports First-Ever Loss
Viglacera, the construction equipment giant, reported a net loss of 48 billion VND in Q4/2023, due to declining revenues and high maintenance costs. This marks the first time the company has reported a loss since its inception.
Cen Land’s annual profits plummet to 2.5 billion VND, with nearly 60% of assets being accounts receivables.
Although the fourth quarter saw a reversal in profits, declining revenue resulted in Cen Land’s net profit for the entire year of 2023 only reaching 2.5 billion VND. It is worth mentioning that nearly 60% of the company’s assets consist of receivables from partners, with a total value of approximately 4,100 billion VND.
Vinamilk: Impressive nearly 20% growth in Q4/2023 export revenue
Vinamilk has announced its financial report for Q4 2023, recording a consolidated total revenue and after-tax profit of VND 15,630 billion and VND 2,351 billion, respectively. This represents an increase of 3.6% and 25.8% compared to the same period last year. For the full year, the consolidated total revenue and after-tax profit reached VND 60,479 billion and VND 9,019 billion, completing 95% of the revenue target and 105% of the profit target.
