Seedcom, the operator of The Coffee House beverage chain and June fashion outlets, posted a loss of nearly VND240 billion ($10.45 million) last year due to Covid-19 impacts. The loss increased by nearly 24 percent from 2020.
Its debt-to-equity ratio rose by 26 to 69.5. It had nearly VND1.48 trillion in debt by the end of the year.
Last year, it raised VND50 billion in bonds with a coupon rate of 12 percent per annum.
The negative figures came as most of Seedcom’s business, including The Coffee House, Juno and another fashion brand Hnoss, had to shut down or operated with limited capacity for months due to social distancing.
The Coffee House last year launched a kiosk model to focus on selling takeaways in crowded areas like supermarkets or main roads.
But so far only two such kiosks have been opened in Ho Chi Minh City, despite CEO Le Ba Nam Anh’s plans to open a large number of such facilities.
Seedcom, established in 2014, also owns delivery companies AhaMove, Giao Hang Nhanh and retail chain Kingfoodmart.
Last year it branched into finance by partnering with Thai bank Kvision to provide payment and loan services to small and medium companies, focusing on cashless finance.
It also sold farming unit Cau Dat Farm, which grows and processes coffee, to Nova Consumer under NovaGroup to focus more on retail.