Vinamilk’s organic dairy farm in Da Lat is the first in Viet Nam to be certified as meeting European standards.  — VNA/VNS Photo Pham Kha

HCM CITY – Việt Nam Dairy Products Joint-Stock Company (Vinamilk) projects a total revenue of VNĐ51 trillion (US$2.26 billion) in 2017, an increase of 8 per cent over last year.

Vinamilk also targets a post-tax profit of VNĐ9.73 trillion, a yearly rise of 4 per cent, general director Mai Kiều Liên said at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting on Saturday.

The company also plans a post-tax dividend for 2017’s business performance at the lowest rate of 50 per cent (or VNĐ5,000 per share).

There will be two dividend payments for 2017. The first in August or September 2017, and the second in May or June 2018.

The remaining dividend for 2016 will be paid at the rate of 20 per cent (or VNĐ2,000 per share). Shareholders must complete registering for dividend payments by May 5, 2017 and the payment will be made on May 22.

In the first quarter of 2017, Vinamilk recorded a yearly rise of 16.1 per cent in revenue and 34 per cent in post-tax profit compared to the same period in 2016.

Liên also said Vinamilk was ready for its strategic development by 2021. The company would continue to study and develop products to maintain similar growth, cooperate with overseas partners and expand its operation in other markets, such as the US and New Zealand, to ensure a sufficient source of input materials.

In 2021, Vinamilk forecasts a total revenue of VNĐ80 trillion, including VNĐ19 trillion from overseas markets. Vinamilk is also planning to acquire a US dairy factory whose sales reached $13 million.

Its average yearly growth rate in the domestic market is projected at 10 per cent, and the revenue from the domestic market in 2021 is predicted at VNĐ61 trillion.

New corporate governance model applied

Vinamilk chairwoman Lê Thị Băng Tâm said the company would apply a new corporate governance model.

Vinamilk would remove the old supervision board and replace it with a new internal supervision sub-commission, directly managed by the management board.

By setting up the new team, the number of management board members in Vinamilk increased to nine from the current six with the appearance of Nguyễn Bá Dương, chairman of the Coteccons Construction Corporation (Coteccons). Dương is also among the three independent members of the management board.

Phan Đức Hiếu, deputy director of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), said at the meeting that the new corporate governance model was widely used in the world.

The new model would help Vinamilk operate its business and protect the rights and benefits of minor shareholders in a way that is more transparent, he said. – VNS