Will Sacombank pay dividends this year?

Confident profit target increase of 15% in 2025

The General Meeting of Shareholders is scheduled to be held on April 25 in Ho Chi Minh City. Sacombank has not yet provided further information on the content or presentations at this year's General Meeting of Shareholders.

In 2025, Sacombank plans to have total assets of VND819,800 billion, an increase of 10% compared to 2024. Mobilized capital is expected to increase by 9% to VND736,300 billion, outstanding credit balance will increase by 14% to VND614,400 billion. The on-balance sheet bad debt ratio is controlled below 2%. The bank targets pre-tax profit of VND14,560 billion, an increase of 15%.

In 2025, Sacombank's pre-tax profit is expected to reach 14,560 billion VND.

Previously, the accumulated profit for the whole year of 2024 reached VND 12,720 billion, an increase of 32.6% compared to 2023, reaching the highest level in the history of the bank's operations and exceeding the target assigned by the General Meeting of Shareholders. The main driver of profit growth came from service activities and investment securities with double-digit growth of 13.8% and 63.5%, respectively.

Regarding bad debt settlement, the bank has recovered and settled nearly VND10,000 billion of bad debt and outstanding assets in the past year, bringing the cumulative total to VND103,988 billion, of which VND76,695 billion belongs to the Project. As a result, the outstanding amounts under the Project have decreased by 80.5% in scale and 25.7% in proportion compared to the time of implementation, currently accounting for only 2.4% of total assets.

Of which, for debts belonging to Phong Phu Industrial Park, Sacombank successfully auctioned the debt after 18 auctions in 2023, with a selling price of VND 7,934 billion, higher than the debt obligation of customers. To date, Sacombank has actually recovered VND 1,587 billion and is expected to fully recover in 2025.

Regarding risk provisions, in 2024, Sacombank set aside VND 2,623 billion in risk provisions and used VND 2,061 billion to handle risks (of which credit risk use was VND 756 billion and VAMC bond handling was VND 1,305 billion). Completed 100% risk provisions for outstanding debts that have not been handled, increasing the size of the buffer to VND 25,689 billion.

Dividends will be paid after restructuring is completed.

Sacombank's accumulated retained earnings after profit distribution in 2024 are expected to be VND25,352 billion, 1.3 times the charter capital, creating a ready resource to pay dividends to shareholders as soon as the State Bank approves. However, the Bank has no plan to pay dividends because it has not yet completed the restructuring plan. According to Sacombank, up to now, the Bank only has the last knot left, which is waiting for the State Bank to approve the plan to handle the STB shares according to the restructuring plan.

In 2025, Sacombank is confident that it will complete its business plan and is determined to accelerate the working process with the State Bank to officially announce the completion of the post-merger restructuring project. Regarding the debts secured by STB shares of Mr. Tram Be and related parties, Sacombank has submitted settlement plans and is awaiting approval from the State Bank.

At the same time, Sacombank has made a 100% provision for the principal balance of the above bad debt and has completely withdrawn accrued interest from the end of the second quarter of 2022. The approval for Sacombank to process the stock lot as well as record the completion of restructuring will take time. However, with the current business results, Sacombank is confident that it can operate effectively and increase value for shareholders, investors, customers and partners.

At the shareholders' meetings, Sacombank shareholders also expect to receive approval for the dividend payment plan after a long period of 9 years without receiving any. The fact that 9 consecutive years of not paying dividends despite the huge retained earnings has made many Sacombank shareholders worried.

In the annual report in early 2024, Ms. Nguyen Duc Thach Diem, General Director of Sacombank, said that the Bank understands that the prolonged non-payment of dividends in the past has more or less created an unhappy sentiment among shareholders. However, in reality, Sacombank is a restructuring bank, and dividend payments, regardless of the form, must be approved by the State Bank.

Previously, at the 2024 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, Mr. Duong Cong Minh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sacombank, said that Sacombank must repay its charter capital and reduce bad debt to below 3% to be eligible to pay dividends.

"Currently, the important thing is to return charter capital and handle bad debt. The debt related to Mr. Tram Be must wait for the Government's permission. If the capital is returned, Sacombank will complete restructuring this year and will submit to the State Bank to pay dividends," Mr. Minh shared.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/sacombank-co-chia-co-tuc-trong-nam-nay-d262941.html