VPBankS raises stake in Kinh Bac to 5.04%, officially becoming a major shareholder

VPBank Securities Corporation (VPBankS, ticker VPX) has increased its stake in Kinh Bac Corporation (KBC) to above 5%, officially making it a major shareholder as of April 13.

Stake increase and transaction details

VPBankS said it acquired an additional 1.15 million KBC shares, bringing its total holding to 47.5 million shares. This represents 5.044% of KBC’s charter capital. Based on the day’s price, the transaction is estimated to cost nearly 40 billion VND.

Context ahead of KBC’s 2026 AGM

The move comes ahead of KBC’s 2026 annual general meeting scheduled for April 18 in Bac Ninh. In the meeting materials, KBC plans to retain 2025 dividends in cash with no payout, and proposes a 2026 cash dividend of 20%.

2026 targets and recent performance gap

For 2026, KBC targets consolidated revenue of 10,000 billion VND and after-tax profit of 3,000 billion VND. The company said this would represent a 50% increase in revenue and a 36% increase in profit compared with 2025.

However, the feasibility of these targets has been questioned based on recent results. In 2025, KBC reported revenue of 6,687 billion VND, up 2.4 times from 2024. After-tax profit reached 2,208 billion VND, up fivefold from 2024, but remained below the 10,000 billion VND revenue and 3,200 billion VND after-tax profit targets approved by shareholders.

KBC attributed the shortfall mainly to the Trang Cat urban area not being brought online as planned. The company also cited the impact of U.S. tariff policy, which led major investors to delay investment plans to adapt to the new context, affecting other industrial parks such as Trang Duệ 3 and Loc Giang as they waited for investors.

2025 marked the sixth consecutive year that KBC did not meet its financial targets. From 2022–2024, the company set ambitious growth scenarios with after-tax profit targets of 4,000–4,500 billion VND, but completion rates were modest.

VPBankS outlook for Q1 2026 profit

In its Q1 2026 earnings forecast, VPBankS projects that KBC’s after-tax profit could fall by as much as 71.8% to 240 billion VND in Q1. For the full year, VPBankS estimates after-tax profit at 2,802 billion VND, up 26.9% versus the same period but still below KBC’s target.

VPBankS said the Q1 2026 decline would come from a high base in the year-ago quarter, with higher borrowing costs contributing to the decrease.

Related shareholding and acquisitions

Another notable development is that on December 26, 2025, KBC completed the acquisition of 9.45 million shares in 3H Vietnam and 9.65 million shares in Logistics A&E. Following the deals, KBC gained 100% voting rights in both companies and indirectly consolidated CTCP Lang Ha Investment.