Media firm Yeah1's chairman Nguyễn Ảnh Nhượng Tống at the company's debut on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange on June 26, 2018. - Photo vietnamdaily.net.vn

HÀ NỘI – Media company Yeah1 shares surged 6.9 per cent on Tuesday after its chairman and CEO posted shares for sale.

The two officers want to offload more than six million shares in total, or a 19.34 per cent stake, to a strategic investor.

Chairman Nguyễn Ánh Nhượng Tống has signed up to sell 5.05 million shares to cut his stake in the company to 25.52 per cent from 41.66 per cent.

CEO Đào Phúc Trí plans to transfer 1.1 million shares to slash his ownership to 4.78 per cent from 8.3 per cent.

If the deals go through, they will remain the two biggest shareholders in Yeah1.

Other major shareholders in the company are Ancla Asset Ltd and DFJ VinaCapital Venture, which own 10.93 per cent and 9.74 per cent, respectively.

Nearly 23.7 per cent of Yeah1's capital is in the hands of minor shareholders, while treasury shares account for 5.67 per cent.

Yeah1 shares debuted on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange as YEG on June 26, 2018 at VNĐ250,000.

The shares then rocketed to near VNĐ350,000 per shares. 

In April 2019, the world’s largest video sharing platform YouTube terminated the contract with Yeah1 as the Vietnamese firm had violated YouTube’s content management policy.

The termination stirred the market and caused a sell-off at Yeah1 shares. The company shares then free-falled from VNĐ350,000 to VNĐ40,100 on Tuesday.

The contract termination also dragged on Yeah1’s earnings. The company recorded VNĐ435 billion worth of revenue in the fourth quarter of 2019, down 32 per cent on-year.

Yeah1 reported a loss of nearly VNĐ158 billion in the fourth quarter.

Total revenue in 2019 was nearly VNĐ1.45 trillion with more than 72 per cent of the revenue coming from its digital sharing platform.

High financial expense, which was caused by increased risk provision, caused Yeah1 a loss of VNĐ372 billion in 2019. – VNS