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VinFast Q1 net loss $712 million vs forecast $616 million

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VinFast has received around $2 billion from founder,

parent firm

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Revenue jumped 150% to $656.5 million in Q1

(Adds details, analyst and shares in paragraphs 6, 9 and 11-14)

By Phuong Nguyen and Akash Sriram

June 9 (Reuters) - Vietnamese electric vehicle maker

VinFast on Monday reported its sixth consecutive

quarterly net loss as it continues to ramp up spending to boost

sales volumes.

VinFast reported a net loss of $712.4 million for the first

quarter, less than the $1.3 billion loss in the previous quarter

but 15% more than a year earlier. Analysts' average forecast was

for a $616.3 million loss, according to LSEG data.

Revenue jumped 150% to $656.5 million in the January-March

period, compared with analysts' average estimate of $520

million.

Deliveries leapt nearly 300% to 36,330 vehicles during the

quarter, mainly driven by sales in Vietnam, its biggest market.

Backed by Vietnam's largest conglomerate, Vingroup,

VinFast continues to face challenges due to weak consumer

demand, stiff competition, and a 25% tariff the U.S. has imposed

on imported vehicles. VinFast previously identified the U.S. as

a key growth market.

VinFast reported a gross margin of minus 35.2% in the first

quarter, compared with minus 58.7% a year earlier.

"Despite Q1 typically being our slowest quarter, deliveries

for the first quarter of 2025 exceeded our total deliveries for

the first half of last year - an encouraging start to 2025 amid

ongoing global uncertainties," said VinFast Chair Thuy Le.

The firm is intensifying promotional efforts domestically,

shifting to a dealership model from the costlier option of its

own showrooms, and redirecting its focus to Asia, with its new

assembly plant in India set to begin operations in July.

Research and development expenses fell 22.3% year on year in

the first quarter, while the cost of sales more than doubled

over the same period, it said.

VinFast, which has reported a loss every quarter since it

went public in August 2023, has received around $2 billion in

financial support from its founder and CEO Pham Nhat Vuong and

Vingroup, as of May.

"While its VF3 subcompact SUV is driving volumes, the

company is still losing money on every car it sells," research

firm Third Bridge noted in a pre-earnings report.

"The bill of materials is estimated to be significantly

higher than those of Tesla and BYD, partly because VinFast lacks

scale and still pays a premium to suppliers who are wary of its

short track record," it said.

VinFast shares were up 14.04% in pre-market trading.

The company said it would introduce its next-generation

platform and an electrical architecture with the Limo Green

model in the third quarter. This will underpin existing EV

models next year.