Kido Group Corporation (KDC), one of Vietnam’s leading names in ice cream and cooking oil, has reported a surprising loss in Q1 2025, despite strong sales growth. This financial downturn follows a turbulent extraordinary general meeting earlier this year.

According to its latest financial results, KDC recorded a separate financial statement loss of nearly 87 billion VND (approximately USD 3.4 million), a sharp rise compared to the nearly 9.3 billion VND (around USD 360,000) loss in the same period last year.

On a consolidated basis, KDC posted a loss of nearly 67.3 billion VND (about USD 2.6 million) in Q1 2025, compared to a profit of nearly 21.7 billion VND (about USD 840,000) in Q1 2024.

While revenue increased significantly, the company still reported a loss for the quarter. Consolidated revenue reached nearly 2.146 trillion VND (around USD 83.2 million), up 18% year-on-year. Separately, revenue stood at 2.329 trillion VND (approximately USD 90.3 million), up 16%.

In an explanatory statement signed by Vice Chairman and CEO Tran Le Nguyen, Kido attributed the loss to “market fluctuations that have impacted the company.”

Previously, in Q4 2024, KDC posted a net profit of 13.8 billion VND (around USD 535,000), a notable recovery from the loss of more than 511 million VND (about USD 20,000) in Q4 2023. This rebound was mainly driven by financial income of nearly 45 billion VND (USD 1.7 million) and over 27 billion VND (around USD 1 million) in profit from joint ventures and associated companies.

The bleak Q1 performance came as a surprise to many investors.

On January 24, Kido held an extraordinary general meeting, which saw shareholders reject a proposal to sell a 24.03% stake in KIDO Foods.

KIDO Foods, the producer and distributor of the well-known Merino and Celano ice cream brands, currently holds the largest market share in Vietnam.

In 2023, Kido’s board of directors approved and executed a transfer of 24.03% of KIDO Foods’ capital, reducing the company’s ownership to 49% and effectively relinquishing control of the subsidiary.

In September 2024, Nutifood announced it had become the parent company of KDF after acquiring a 51% stake from multiple sellers.

However, Kido later asserted that Merino and Celano remained under the group’s ownership. In 2022, the company had completed legal procedures to transfer ownership of its brands from subsidiaries back to the parent group, including Vocarimex, Tuong An Oil, KIDO Foods, and KIDO Nha Be.

During the extraordinary shareholders' meeting, all four proposals were rejected: the sale of the 24.03% stake in KIDO Foods (91.3% of attendees voted against), the transfer of the Celano and Merino brand names, and the sale of the Kido brand itself.

Meeting minutes show that some major shareholders believed the transfer of the 24.03% stake in KIDO Foods, carried out without prior shareholder approval, negatively impacted their rights and investments in Kido.

A representative of Star Pacifica Singapore, which owns more than 20.5 million shares (7.1% of voting rights), stated that while the board may technically have the authority to approve the transaction, the fund disagreed with the move, citing damage to shareholder interests, including their own.

Similarly, a representative of Vina QSR Limited voiced concern over the transaction, emphasizing that it had affected the fund's investment interests in KDC.

Manh Ha