An Cuong Wood General Shareholders’ Meeting (ACG): Closing the 2021 dividend payment rate of 80%, not afraid of US investigation issues

An Cuong Wood pays dividends at the rate of 80%

An Cuong Wood Joint Stock Company (UPCoM: ACG) just successfully held the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders in 2022.

In 2022, shareholders approved a business plan with a target revenue of VND 4,242 billion, up 28.8% and profit after tax of more than VND 550 billion, up 21.9% compared to 2021.

Regarding dividends, in 2021, ACG approves paying dividends at the rate of 80%. In which, 50% of shares have been paid and the company has also advanced a cash dividend at the rate of 5%. ACG plans to pay a cash dividend at the rate of 20% right in June 2022.

At the meeting, An Cuong Wood’s leader said the business situation in the first 5 months of the year with revenue growth of 16%, profit growth of 22%.

Given the concerns of shareholders about such a good growth rate, is it too cautious to set full-year profit growth of only 22%? Le Duc Nghia, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said that this is a prudent profit plan after the post-Covid period.

“The 2022 plan sets out a profit of more than 550 billion and in the first 5 months of 2022, the growth has met the plan, in my opinion, we will exceed this plan. In addition, we also have an investment. 500 billion investment in Thang Loi, please just pay me a profit of somewhere 20% I believe An Cuong can achieve a higher profit than planned, but now with other factors Due to the unpredictable outlook from the market, we still plan to be cautious,” Mr. Nghia said.

Target export revenue to 50 million USD/year

Answering a shareholder’s question about the fact that although exports bring high revenue, it reduces profit margins, so in the near future, exports will be promoted, Mr. Nghia said, although the gross profit margin of exports is not high. but the job runs very smoothly and pays well. Meanwhile, for domestic projects, although the profit margin is good (maybe up to 20%), the dominant factors such as the long construction progress and delayed payment should ultimately make the profit equal to export.

The direction of An Cuong Wood is to develop revenue to billions of USD. Currently export revenue is 30 million USD/year, An Cuong will aim to develop export revenue to 50 million USD/year.

“When An Cuong does export, it is not only a matter of current revenue but also the skills of workers, the level of the team will definitely be improved. Even labor productivity must also be raised, one year we will be If we make 1,000 chairs for foreign countries, by the second year of the third year, our labor productivity will certainly be different. Moreover, the sale of export goods is a good source of foreign currency income for An Cuong”, Mr. Nghia said. ..

Mr. Nghia also said that it only takes one export contract to get 5, 10 million USD, while domestic competition is fierce to get this revenue. For a manufacturing plant, running at full capacity is very important. Accordingly, in the near future, An Cuong Wood will continue to develop strongly in the export segment.

Can the Central Hill project at the end of the year be open for sale?

Before the concerns of shareholders about the prospect of cooperation with Thang Loi Real Estate Company when real estate policies are tending to be unfavorable to real estate developers, Mr. Nghia said that Thang Loi Real Estate is a company with a long history. good development.

Thang Loi has grown tremendously since the first days as a real estate broker thanks to its business strategy, young and dynamic team as well as the transparency of the business. The Company’s investment (120 billion) is estimated to have tripled after 2 years since investing in this company.

“Recently, An Cuong invested in the Central Hill Project related to Thang Loi, to keep 30% of this company’s capital, the land area of ​​this project has vitality. Very good luck and good legal factors. (have obtained the project policy and 1/500 plan) to build nearly 8,000 apartments with reasonable prices (apartment about 1 billion/unit, unit price more than 20 million/2), actual progress The project is now implemented quickly,” Nghia said.

By the end of this year, Central Hill will be able to open for sale and An Cuong will introduce mass customization furniture products (tailored for a large number of customers).

“Investing in Central Hill is not only an investment of money, but An Cuong brings a lot of brains and solutions here to develop the project together. I believe this cooperation will be successful and bring good results. for both parties”, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Wood An Cuong affirmed.

The US is investigating the production of kitchen cabinets from Vietnam, does An Cuong Wood have an influence?

Regarding the fact that US businesses have filed an investigation to impose anti-evading taxes on goods originating from China, Mr. Nghia said that the goods subject to tax are those of enterprises with violations. violation of origin, that is, bringing Vietnamese origin but actually completely manufactured in China and imported to Vietnam for assembly, processing, and packaging in the final stages. Accordingly, this tax is not applicable to the entire industry.

Mr. Nghia affirmed, An Cuong is confident that the proportion of materials and manufacturing processes of products with Vietnamese origin is high and is completely unconcerned with the US investigation. However, An Cuong continued to closely follow the specific developments of this issue. Regarding business activities, the Company commits to comply with and strictly implement regulations on origin of goods.

In terms of raw materials: An Cuong’s raw material source is quite stable, 50% of An Cuong’s input materials are from Sumitomo. Sumitomo has a factory in Long An to exploit Melaleuca trees with the strategy of both exploitation and regeneration. Materials for bathing MDEF, PB are mainly from branches, tops and roots of saltwater melaleuca poles and rubber. That is the by-products of the tree, so the current source of raw materials in the next 5-10 years is guaranteed to be stable.