Brewer of Saigon Beer sees revenues surge by a third

Sabeco, the company responsible for producing Saigon Beer, saw year-on-year revenues jump 33% in 2022, as consumption bounced back from a Covid-induced slump.

Sabeco, based in Vietnam, saw revenues rise to VND35.24 trillion (£1.2 billion) in 2022.

The brewer’s post-tax profit surged by almost 40% to VND5.5 trillion, the highest level since it was sold to ThaiBev in 2017, as reported by Retail News Asia. Despite earlier interest shown by major beer companies including AB InBev and Asahi Group, ThaiBev was the only company that has registered for a stake of more than 25% before the deadline in December 2017.

Higher input costs impacting on price have been minimised by improvements in production efficiency and implemented cost-saving measures, the company said in a statement. The Saigon Beer brewer also pointed to promotion and marketing campaigns for helping to boost sales.

Sabeco’s revenue in 2022 was 8% shy of the company’s 2019 results. However, its revenue were four times higher than that of Habeco, its major competitior in Vietnam, which recorded a revenue of VND8.5 trillion.

Reports from the IWSR of an emerging craft beer movement in Vietnam should not obscure the fact that the country remains a haven for big beer. The drinks industry often reflects geopolitical history, and the two dominant brewing groups in Vietnam are no exception.

Sabeco is located in the south in what is now known as Ho Chi Minh City. In the north, there’s Habeco, Hanoi Beverage Corp.

The Saigon brewer is approximately four times the size of its competitor and produces Bia Saigon and 333 Premium Export Beer. Heineken and Carlsberg also have operations in Vietnam.

Vietnam is the third largest beer producing country in Asia, responsible for 40,000,000 hectolitres of the world’s yearly production. China and Japan are the only other Asian nations with a higher output, and China, producing 341,110,000 hectolitres per year, is the biggest brewing country in the world.