Viettel Global reports profits of US$57.1 million in Q3
Viettel Global Investment JSC, a subsidiary of Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group, reported revenue of VND4,428 billion (US$188.6 million) and profit of VND1,342 billion (US$57.1 million) in the third quarter of 2018, increases of 5 and 8% year-on-year.
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Besides traditional markets which brought high profits to Viettel Global, Viettel Burundi and Viettel Haiti achieved strong revenue growth of 14% and 26%, respectively.
In Haiti, the allotment of the 1700 MHz frequency for its 4G network this year gave Viettel’s Natcom an important advantage and it signed up double the number of customers it did last year.
Viettel Global’s sales and management costs have reduced by 4% and 12% this year after adopting a new business model.
It has hired Viettel Telecoms to run its operations in foreign markets to take advantage of its resources and operational experience in Vietnam, and has retained only the functions of strategising, managing finances, and exploring and investing in foreign markets.
Its income from financial investments increased by 54% in the third quarter.
By the end of the third quarter, Viettel Global had a chartered capital of VND30,438 billion (US$1.29 billion) and total asset of VND59,029 billion (US$2.51 billion), up 13.6% as compared to the figure at the year’s beginning.
Viettel Global’s turnover in the first nine months was down 5% to VND12,432 billion (US$529.7 million), and the company reported a loss of VND812 billion (US$34.6 million) as against a profit of VND273 billion (US$11.6 million) in the same period last year.
The loss was because of Mytel, its company in Myanmar, which only began operations in June 2018 and has yet to break even.
Myanmar is the company’s largest foreign market and Viettel Global pins high hopes on it because the country has a large population.
Mytel signed up 3.2 million subscribers in just the first three months and Viettel has set its sights on breaking even in 2-2.5 years against its average of three years.
In terms of turnover, Africa, where it has presence in Cameroon, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Burundi, was the main contributor with VND5,606 billion (US$238.8 million).
It is followed by Southeast Asia where Viettel Global has joint ventures in Cambodia and East Timor with VND4,544 billion (US$193.6 million) and Latin America with VND1,685 billion (US$71.8 million).
Viettel provides 4G services in nine foreign markets, except Cameroon, and electronic wallet services in eight, except Haiti and Myanmar.
It has set itself a goal of expanding to reach a population of 400-500 million and becoming one of the 10 top telecom players in the world. It already is among the top 30 in terms of number of customers.
