Masan Group (MSN) recently reported that its consumer goods subsidiary, Masan Consumer (MCH), is being negatively impacted by the general market situation. During Q2, the consumer goods sector continued to face challenges due to a weaker-than-expected recovery and new tax regulations affecting traditional trade (GT) channels.

Masan estimates that approximately 30,000 individual business households have been affected, leading to widespread inventory reductions and a slowdown in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sales. In the first 5 months of the year, FMCG sales volume through GT channels decreased by nearly 3% year-on-year.

MCH is facing short-term challenges stemming from structural changes in Vietnam's retail sector. The implementation of new tax regulations for individual business households caused temporary disruptions in GT channels, where MCH has a significant presence. As a result, many traditional retailers, both large and small, have significantly reduced their inventory, with inventory days decreasing by about 8 days for large retailers and 3 days for small retailers. This led to an estimated revenue decrease of 600-800 billion VND for Masan Consumer in the quarter.

Overall, MCH recorded revenue of 6,276 billion VND, a 15% decrease year-on-year, and EBITDA of 1,605 billion VND, a 13% decrease. However, revenue for the first 6 months of the year decreased by only 1.5% year-on-year thanks to positive results in Q1.

Consumers viewing Masan Consumer products. Photo: MSN

Consumers viewing Masan Consumer products. Photo: MSN

In response, the company is accelerating its transition to a more flexible and sustainable distribution model, such as shifting to a direct coverage model, reducing reliance on large traditional retailers, and strengthening its route-to-market capabilities.

In the first half of the year, MCH expanded its point-of-sale coverage in pilot areas (up 62% year-on-year), and the average number of points of sale with at least one order per month served by each salesperson increased by 48% year-on-year. These changes are expected to restore MCH's growth momentum in the coming quarters.

While traditional channels were affected, Q2 revenue from modern trade (MT) and Horeca channels (hotels, restaurants, and cafes) recorded strong growth, reaching 5.7% and 34.2% year-on-year, respectively. In addition, some product categories remained stable, such as coffee, personal and home care, and exports, which partially offset the weakness in spices, convenience foods, and bottled beverages.

In the last 6 months of the year, Masan Consumer will continue its strategy of strengthening its foundation, including expanding direct distribution, optimizing point-of-sale inventory management, and promoting product innovation. The strategic focus will be to return MCH to double-digit revenue growth while maintaining high profits.

Being part of the Masan ecosystem, the company has the advantage of deep coordination with WinCommerce, the operator of the WinMart supermarket chain and WinMart+ convenience stores. This is also one of the segments that has become a support for MSN recently.

In Q2, WinCommerce's revenue reached 9,130 billion VND, a 16% increase year-on-year. NPAT Pre-MI reached 10 billion VND, an increase of 159 billion VND year-on-year. This is the 4th consecutive profitable quarter for WCM, thanks to superior operations and an effective network expansion strategy. In the first half of 2025, revenue reached 17,915 billion VND, a 13.4% increase year-on-year. Profit before minority interest (NPAT Pre-MI) reached 68 billion VND, a 292 billion VND increase year-on-year. These results were driven by like-for-like (LFL) sales growth and network expansion in rural areas.

As of the end of June, this food and consumer goods retail chain opened a net of 318 new stores, completing 80% of its base target for new openings for the year. This figure is still below the higher target of 380 stores. They are currently the largest modern retailer by scale with 4,146 stores nationwide.

In total, Masan Group's Q2 revenue was 18,315 billion VND, a nearly 10% decrease year-on-year. The decline was mainly due to the consumer goods segment. Their after-tax profit was over 1,619 billion VND, an increase of over 71%, thanks to contributions from improved sales productivity and operations at WinCommerce, as well as more efficient livestock operations and higher pork prices at Masan Meatlife (MML). In the first 6 months of the year, MSN had 37,212 billion VND in revenue and 2,602 billion VND in after-tax profit. Revenue decreased by nearly 5%, but profit increased by nearly 83% year-on-year.

This year, MSN expects consolidated net revenue to be in the range of 80,000-85,500 billion VND, corresponding to LFL growth of about 7-14% year-on-year. NPAT Pre-MI is expected to reach 4,875-6,500 billion VND, representing growth of 14-52%. The company wants to further reduce financial leverage to improve its balance sheet and reduce financial costs. At the same time, management is also divesting from non-core areas.

Tat Dat