HANOI, Vietnam (AFP): NASDAQ-listed Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast lost more than US$1.2 billion from continuing operations in the second quarter even as sales soared, it said on Monday.
Founder and former CEO Pham Nhat Vuong -- who handed the automaker's reins to his eldest son in September -- is Vietnam's richest person and VinFast aims to compete with global EV giants such as Tesla.
But it has struggled to break into the international market and has seen steadily mounting losses, even as sales rocket domestically.
VinFast warned in its outlook that it continued to face "industry-wide semiconductor supply constraints affecting automotive manufacturers globally".
It delivered 70,085 electric vehicles globally in the three months to June, it said in an earnings release, up 96 percent from a year earlier.
Deliveries of electric scooters and e-bikes quadrupled over the same period, up 311 percent to 286,039 units.
But it reported a net loss on continuing operations of $1.24 billion, more than doubling from a year earlier and 48 percent wider quarter-on-quarter.
Its total net loss was flattered by a disposal gain of $1.47 billion as the company sold its manufacturing subsidiary to a group of buyers including its founder.
The figures come after VinFast reported net losses of more than $1 billion for each of the last two quarters.
The firm is trying to crack markets in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, the United States and Canada, but it said international markets accounted for only about 11 percent of total deliveries during the quarter.
VinFast shares soared when it debuted on the Nasdaq in August 2023, at one point exceeding US auto giants Ford and General Motors in market value, but have since slumped. -- AFP
