Products of Merufa Company - Photo: MERUFA
Profits plummet
According to the newly released audited financial report for 2024, Merufa Joint Stock Company's revenue exceeded the annual plan, with net revenue reaching more than VND 139.6 billion. However, the cost of goods sold increased by nearly 14%, causing gross profit to decrease by more than 61%.
Merufa's gross profit margin has dropped sharply, from more than 18% in 2023 to only 7% last year.
The reason for the sharp increase in cost of goods sold this year is because the company destroyed and liquidated damaged, low-quality, outdated and slow-moving inventory. At the same time, the price of rubber - the main material - increased, increasing the cost of products.
Although the company has reduced its interest burden, its selling expenses and administrative expenses during the period both increased, affecting its business performance. As a result, Merufa lost more than VND7 billion, in contrast to the profit of more than VND5.4 billion in 2023.
Merufa's total liabilities have decreased sharply compared to the end of 2023, mainly due to the settlement of short-term loans and financial leases worth VND13.6 billion. However, equity has also decreased, as undistributed profit after tax has shifted from a profit of VND6.6 billion (end of 2023) to a loss of VND5.9 billion (end of 2024).
Looking back at the development journey, the predecessor of today's Merufa is the Medical Rubber Enterprise (Merufa), established in 1987 from the cooperation between the World Population Organization (UNFPA) and the Government of Vietnam. This unit received technical support from UNFPA in improving the quality of condom products.
In 2002, the enterprise was transformed into a joint stock company with a charter capital of 20 billion VND and MRF shares were traded on UPCoM 15 years later.
According to its self-introduction, Merufa is the first unit in Vietnam to research, produce and supply products from natural rubber, such as condoms (since 1987), surgical gloves (since 1994), lubricant gel (since 2015)... The domestic market (through hospital channels, distribution enterprises...) contributed more than 87% of Merufa's revenue last year.
Merufa's business results in the past 5 years - Source: Financial statements
CEO quit due to pressure
By the end of 2024, Merufa has 144 employees, with headquarters in Phu Nhuan district and a factory in Binh Chanh district (HCMC) and a branch in Hanoi .
Regarding personnel changes, on February 13, Mr. Nguyen Kim Thanh (born in 1970) submitted his resignation as general director after four months in office.
Specifically, in October 2024, Merufa's board of directors appointed Mr. Thanh as general director, with a nine-month probationary period.
Despite trying to absorb, control all activities and resolve related backlogs, Mr. Thanh said he could not complete his tasks with work pressure and expectations from the board of directors, so he wrote a resignation letter.
In addition, at the end of January, Mr. Pham Cao Thai resigned from his position as secretary of the board of directors and administrator after 30 days of learning and working in the new role. Mr. Thai said that his qualifications, knowledge and skills did not really meet the job requirements (must be quick, accurate, skillful...).
"I hope you understand that this is not a simple task for me. I want to continue doing my old job of collecting statistics for the purchasing department and only act as an authorized person to publish information. I am committed to doing this well because I have (a little) knowledge and experience in the IT field," said Mr. Pham Cao Thai.
Regarding shareholder structure, by the end of 2024, Vietnam Medical Equipment Corporation (Vinamed) owns 16.17% of Merufa, followed by Thien Mai Investment and Trading Company Limited (15.03%), Tran Nguyen Thanh Mai (10.63%), Lam Quoc Trung (6.59%) and Viet Culture Service Joint Stock Company (5.05%).
At the 2024 General Meeting of Shareholders, Vinamed proposed transferring its stock listing from UPCoM to HNX to increase liquidity and this issue was approved by the meeting.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hang-san-xuat-bao-cao-su-gan-40-nam-bao-lo-nang-20250402111520781.htm
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