Vietnam pharma profits diverge in third quarter

Bidiphar was among the clearest winners. The company posted a third-quarter net profit of 84 billion dong, up 40% from a year earlier, on revenue of 460 billion dong, up 4.6%. Gross profit rose 11.5% to 209 billion dong, but the bigger lift came from outside operations: profit from associates and joint ventures swung to 10 billion dong from a loss of 8.4 billion dong, while financial costs eased to 3 billion dong from 4.1 billion dong. Nine-month net profit reached 254 billion dong, leaving it 81% of the way toward its full-year pre-tax target.

Imexpharm also managed to expand profit despite weaker sales. Third-quarter revenue fell 5% to 543 billion dong, but net income climbed 9% to 84 billion dong as cost of goods sold dropped to 320 billion dong from 346 billion dong. Financial expense and administrative costs also fell, helping operating profit rise 3% to 105 billion dong. The company’s nine-month net profit increased 8% even as revenue declined 8%, a sign that margin management can still offset a softer top line.

Ladophar delivered a similar pattern, with third-quarter revenue up 27% to 75 billion dong and operating profit jumping 70% to 6.3 billion dong. Net income rose 14% to 4.2 billion dong, and nine-month profit already exceeded its full-year pre-tax target. But the company’s balance sheet shows pressure points beneath the surface, including 184.5 billion dong of short-term receivables and 64.4 billion dong of inventory, suggesting working-capital demands remain high.

CPC1 also posted strong operating momentum, with third-quarter revenue rising 32% to 679 billion dong and operating profit surging 124% to 52.6 billion dong. Yet net income fell 11% to 40 billion dong because other income swung from a 34.7 billion dong gain a year earlier to a 2.7 billion dong loss. The result underlines how non-core items can still distort reported profit even when the business itself is performing well.

On the losing side, Traphaco showed how rising costs can erase the benefit of higher sales. Revenue rose 4% to 704 billion dong, but cost of goods sold jumped 23% to 340 billion dong, pressuring gross margin. Selling expenses declined, but management costs increased, leaving net profit down to 69 billion dong. After nine months, profit was still down nearly 2%, and the company will need a sharp fourth-quarter rebound to hit its full-year target.

CPC1 Hanoi faced a sharper margin squeeze. Revenue rose 14% to 476 billion dong, but cost of goods sold climbed 31% and gross margin narrowed to 53.2% from 59.3%. Selling expenses increased 20% to 155 billion dong, or roughly a third of revenue, pulling nine-month net income down 15% to 188 billion dong. Higher borrowings added to the pressure, with short-term debt more than doubling to 113 billion dong and long-term debt rising to 93 billion dong.

The weakest showing came from Dược phẩm Cửu Long, where revenue rose 19% to 339 billion dong but gross profit was only 39 billion dong after cost of goods sold climbed to 300 billion dong. Financial expense jumped 56% to 20 billion dong on higher borrowing costs, and selling expenses also rose. The company posted an operating loss of 17 billion dong and a net loss of 18 billion dong in the quarter, versus a loss of 5.8 billion dong a year earlier. Nine-month results flipped from a 16 billion dong profit to an 18 billion dong loss, even as it continued to invest in its EU-GMP plant project in Long An.

The pattern is straightforward: in Vietnam’s pharmaceutical sector, the businesses with the cleanest operating leverage and the least strain from funding costs are still compounding earnings, while those with heavier debt loads, weaker pricing power or rising input costs are seeing profits disappear. That split is important for investors because it separates companies that can fund expansion internally from those that may need more borrowing or capital investment to keep up.