ASM struggles with business growth

According to the audited consolidated financial statements for the first six months of 2025, ASM generated net revenue of VND 6,069.4 billion, up 2.4% over the same period in 2024. However, its after-tax profit was only 79.4 billion VND, down 56% from the same time the previous year.

Focus on renewable energy

While the business situation has not improved significantly, ASM has continued to develop in the renewable energy industry in order to restore positive cash flow. Recently, ASM's Board of Directors authorized a resolution to give VND 7.5 billion, or 75% of the shares, to Sao Mai Wind Power JSC. This is a new corporation, founded in early 2025, with a charter capital of VND 10 billion. If this transaction is finalized, ASM's total number of subsidiaries will climb to 12. This initiative underlines ASM's ambition to broaden its business areas and transition to renewable energy.

ASM is an early player in Vietnam's renewable energy market. In late 2017, this startup launched a 1.07 MWp rooftop solar power plant. It continues to run and generate energy commercially in 2019 and 2020 from the Europlast Long An Solar Power project, which has a capacity of 50 MWp, and the An Hao Solar Power project in An Giang, which has a capacity of 210 MWp.

In addition to the two factories listed above, ASM founded Sao Mai Solar Co., Ltd. to install rooftop solar power systems on manufacturing and business buildings both inside and outside of the ecosystem. It has completed numerous significant projects, including the solar power systems at Lap Vo Industrial Cluster (4.23 MWp), Hon Dat (2.3 MWp), and Dai Toan Phat Company (9.7 MWp).

ASM plans to construct multiple large-scale renewable energy projects in the near future, including a 750 MW solar power project in Dak Nong, a 500 MW solar power project, a 100 MW wind power project, and a 500 MW wind power project in Laos by 2025.

Many challenges lie ahead

At the 2025 Annual General Meeting, ASM established lofty business targets, with net sales reaching VND 13,600 billion (up 13%) and after-tax profit reaching VND 700 billion (2.8 times greater than 2024 results). However, at the end of Q2/2025, it had only completed only 11% of its business plan. This demonstrated ASM's major obstacles in achieving its aims.

According to ASM's Board of Directors, the primary cause for the company's poor economic performance was the impact of interest expenditures and currency rate changes, which weighed on total profitability.

Furthermore, the gradual recovery of the real estate market, particularly in the Central and Southern Vietnam provinces where the majority of ASM's projects are situated, contributed to the company's relatively low real estate income last year, making the forecast for 2025 dubious.
In the backdrop of a sluggish fish market and unimproved commerce, the failure to break through in the real estate industry would pose substantial hurdles to ASM's growth objectives, not only in 2025.

To carry out the projects, ASM has recently announced the issue of shares to pay dividends to its shareholders for the year 2024. As a result, it would issue nearly 37 million shares to provide dividends to stockholders. The shareholder list's final registration date is October 8, 2025.

The overall issue value, calculated at par, is almost VND 370.2 billion. The capital source is derived from the undistributed after-tax earnings disclosed in the audited financial records as of December 31, 2024. Thus, if the aforementioned share issue is completed, the company's outstanding shares would grow to nearly 407.2 million, resulting in an increase in charter capital from nearly VND 3,701 billion to nearly VND 4,072 billion.

On the stock exchange, ASM shares traded at VND9,520/share on the morning of September 29, up about 17% over the past 3 months but still down 7% over the past year. Average annual liquidity reached more than 1 million shares/session. ASM fell below VND6,000/share in early April 2025 before recovering nearly 1.5 times to the current price range.