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The first quarter of 2025 has been a tumultuous period for listed rice companies. Many businesses struggled with declining profits or losses amid challenging global market conditions.
According to VietstockFinance, the combined revenue of 10 listed rice companies reached nearly VND 8,700 billion in Q1/2025, an 11% decrease year-on-year. Meanwhile, average net profit declined by 23%, falling to nearly VND 47 billion. The gross profit margin improved from 8.6% to 9.3%, partly due to no companies operating below cost compared to the previous year.
Out of the 10 companies, 4 reported losses, 3 experienced profit declines, and only 3 managed to achieve profit growth, indicating a clear differentiation in the industry’s performance.
Large companies continue to suffer losses, with revenue hitting rock bottom
Angimex (AGM) extended its losing streak to the sixth consecutive quarter with a loss of nearly VND 19 billion in Q1, up from a loss of VND 15 billion in the same period last year. Revenue plunged to below VND 21 billion, a 64% decrease, due to the absence of consolidated revenue from divested subsidiaries.
However, compared to the full-year revenue expectation of only VND 10 billion, the company has doubled its plan after the first quarter, despite the lack of profits. As of March 31, 2025, Angimex’s accumulated loss reached VND 482 billion, and owner’s equity turned negative at VND 300 billion, as a result of the prolonged fallout from the Louis Holdings incident in 2022.
Trung An (TAR) also faced challenges, with Q1 revenue hitting a record low of just VND 327 billion, a 63% decrease. The cost of goods sold accounted for 97% of revenue, resulting in a slim 1% gross profit margin. Consequently, the company incurred a net loss of VND 18 billion, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of losses.
Similarly, Vinafood II (VSF) and Foodcosa (FCS) also slipped into losses, with VND 5.3 billion and VND 1 billion, respectively, reversing their modest profits in the previous year. FCS’s accumulated loss climbed to over VND 195 billion, with owner’s equity falling to less than VND 60 billion. VSF, on the other hand, carried a staggering accumulated loss of VND 2,794 billion due to the misconduct of its former leadership after privatization in 2018.
Both companies witnessed declines in revenue. FCS hit a new low, dropping by 30% to VND 74 billion, while VSF’s revenue decreased by 6% to VND 4,500 billion. A positive note is the improvement in gross profit margins, with FCS achieving a new record of 21.5% and VSF reaching nearly 10%, its highest in three years.
Faint glimmers of hope amidst a gloomy landscape
Among the companies that maintained profitability in Q1, KTC reported a 16% decline in net income to below VND 12 billion, despite a slight increase in revenue to nearly VND 1,400 billion and an improved gross profit margin of 4.2%, the highest in three years. This drop was attributed to a decrease in financial income and higher selling expenses.
MCF and SSC faced more significant profit declines. MCF’s net profit decreased by 39% to VND 1.8 billion, while SSC’s plunged by 64% to VND 2.5 billion. Both companies experienced narrower gross profit margins, with MCF at 8.7% and SSC at 28.1%.
MCF attributed its Q1 performance mainly to the rice segment, thanks to a timely purchasing strategy during periods of low prices. Meanwhile, its packaging, fresh concrete, construction materials, and mechanical segments underperformed. For SSC, Q1/2025 marked the lowest profit level in nearly seven years, achieving just over 4% of its annual plan.
Going against the trend, Vinaseed (NSC), the parent company of SSC, posted a 4% increase in net income to over VND 37 billion, with a 5% rise in revenue to VND 368 billion. The gross profit margin contracted from 33.5% to 30.1% due to the impact of cost prices. These results enabled the company to accomplish 13% of its revenue plan and 16% of its profit plan amid NSC’s ongoing strategic restructuring under new leadership.
Kigimex (KGM) was also among the few rice companies that achieved profit growth, with a 15% increase in net income to VND 3.7 billion, despite a 15% decline in revenue to VND 1,370 billion. Thanks to a significant reduction in cost prices, the gross profit margin improved by over one percentage point to nearly 10%. Following the first quarter, KGM has fulfilled 85% of its profit plan and 30% of its revenue plan for the full year.
The most impressive performance came from TCO Holdings, with a staggering 280% surge in net profit to over VND 33 billion. However, this exceptional result was not derived from its core business but rather from the divestment from Nam An Group JSC, leading to a substantial difference between the transfer price and the asset’s book value.
In reality, TCO’s primary rice business, which contributed VND 450 billion to its total revenue of VND 488 billion (equivalent to 92%), witnessed a decline in the gross profit margin from 4.1% in the first quarter of last year to 2.4% this year.
Rice export prices plunge due to India’s market re-entry
The Q1 performance of the rice companies reflects, to some extent, the overall industry landscape amid adjusting rice export prices since late 2024 due to increasing global supply. In Q1/2025, Vietnam’s average rice export price dropped by 20.2% year-on-year to USD 522 per ton. Consequently, despite a 6.5% increase in export volume to 2.3 million tons, the total export value decreased by 15% to USD 1.2 billion.
This price decline was primarily driven by India’s decision to lift its 14-month-long export ban, flooding the market with cheap rice. As India pushes to reduce its record-high inventory, global rice prices are expected to remain low. This poses significant challenges for Vietnamese exporters striving to maintain profitability and market share.
Strategies for weathering the storm
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Companies are also proactively seeking to expand their presence in premium markets such as the United States and Japan. At the 2025 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, Vinaseed’s Chairwoman, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tra My, emphasized their strategy of prioritizing quality and aiming to penetrate markets with stringent quality standards.
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