Orion Receives $82.5 Million Dividend from Vietnamese Subsidiary

According to the KoreaHerald, Orion recently received a dividend of 50 billion won ($37.5 million) in August from its wholly owned subsidiary, Orion Food Vina Co., Ltd. The remaining dividend of 60 billion won (approximately $45 million) is expected to be received in October. This marks the first time that Orion has received profits from its Vietnamese subsidiary. The company intends to utilize the dividends to acquire sites in South Korea for the construction of a logistics center, expand existing factories, and repay loans.

Orion initiated the export of Choco Pie to Vietnam in 1995 and established Orion Food Vina in 2005. By 2022, Orion Food Vina had become Vietnam’s largest confectionery manufacturer, with its Choco Pie products capturing 66 percent of the pie market, as per a Nielsen survey. The South Korean snack company achieved its highest annual earnings in 2022, with sales amounting to 472 billion won ($354 million) and operating profits reaching 89 billion won (almost $67 million), representing a year-on-year increase of 38.5 percent and 40 percent, respectively.

An Orion spokesperson mentioned that their top-selling products in the Vietnamese market last year were potato-based snacks and Choco Pie, generating sales of approximately 70 billion won ($52 million) and 120 billion won ($90 million), respectively. Orion plans to establish a third facility in Vietnam, in addition to its existing plants in the southern province of Binh Duong and the northern province of Bac Ninh. In a recent development, Orion has formed a strategic partnership with Dutch Mill Co., a prominent dairy company from Thailand, to expand into Vietnam’s thriving dairy market.