Vinamilk announces new board of directors

Vinamilk’s Lao-Jagro dairy farm project. The project is expected to come into operation in late 2022 with a capacity of around 8,000 dairy cows. Photo laodong.vn

HÀ NỘI — Vinamilk has announced revenue of VNĐ61 trillion (US$2.7 billion) and after-tax profit of VNĐ10.6 trillion for the financial year 2021.

The dairy giant also set a revenue target of VNĐ64 trillion ($2.8 billion) for 2022, up 5 per cent compared to last year. Its pre-tax profit is expected to reach VNĐ12 trillion.

It planned to pay dividends in 2022 with a payout ratio of 38.5 per cent, equivalent to VNĐ3,850 ($0.17) of dividends per share, a relatively high ratio in the market.

At the annual general meeting on Tuesday, Vinamilk elected its new board of directors for the 2022-2026 term.

Nguyễn Hạnh Phúc, former general secretary of the National Assembly, received approval from shareholders to become chairman of the board, replacing Lê Thị Băng Tâm who has stepped down from the post.

The other members of the board include Alain Xavier Cany, Đặng Thị Thu Hà, Đỗ Lê Hùng, Hoàng Ngọc Thạch, Lê Thành Liêm, Lee Meng Tat, Mai Kiều Liên, Michael Chye Hin Fah and Tiêu Yến Trinh.

In addition to the top job, Phúc was also elected as chairman of the Human Resource Committee and member of the Compensation Committee.

The board re-appointed Mai Kiều Liên as chief executive officer. She was voted as chairwoman of the Strategy Committee as well.

At the meeting, Vinamilk revealed that it will engage in four major strategic projects in the next five years to expand its production.

Notably, it will partner with Vilico and the Japanese corporation Sojitz to kick off a project on beef production in 2023. The project has an initial outlay of US$500 million and is expected to produce 30,000 tonnes of beef per year.

Additionally, it is working on the Mộc Châu Milk Paradise project, which comprises a milk farm, a high-tech milk factory and eco-tourism sites linked to the farm. The project is about to begin construction this year in Sơn La Province.   

In the long-term, the dairy producer will focus on a four-pillar development strategy to consolidate its market-leading position.

First, it will step up R&D and develop new products to satisfy diverse customer needs and improve customer experiences.

Second, it will accelerate the application of technology in line with international standards to enhance productivity and diversify production. 

Third, it will continue to gain ground in traditional markets and seek new business opportunities through M&A, joint ventures and start-ups.

Lastly, it aims to build a corporate culture towards innovation and creativity to attract more talented fresh blood.

In response to a shareholder’s question on share prices, CEO Liên said that the board never has intentions to buy in shares to prop up share prices. 

“Vinamilk always sticks to sustainable development strategies and lets the market determine its share prices,” she said.

Regarding a question on share issuance, she revealed that Vinamilk considered listing shares on foreign exchanges years ago but later shelved the plan.

The company will go back to the plan in the future when conditions become more favourable.

Concerning a question on company size, she claimed that the number of staff is not a matter of concern for the company since Vinamilk has just 5,000-6,000 employees on the payroll against revenue of nearly $3 billion. 

The CEO believed that room for growth is still ample as the dairy market is far from saturation. Accordingly, she estimated Vinamilk’s revenues at around VNĐ86 trillion by 2025.

Between 2017 and 2021, Vinamilk was ranked by Plimsoll among 36 largest diary companies in terms of revenues in the world. 

It also positioned itself as one of 10 most-valued diary brands and one of five strongest food brands worldwide, according to Brand Finance. — VnExpress News