Hanoi, Oct 14 - Dairy group Vinamilk, Vietnam's second-largest listed company, reported a 35.5 percent profit jump in the first nine months of this year, reflecting strong demand at home and soaring exports.
Analysts said Vinamilk has so far been unaffected by a crisis in consumer confidence in milk products after a tainted milk scandal that originated in China reverberated across the world.
The country's top dairy firm said it made net profit of 1.02 trillion dong ($62 million) between January and September as revenues rose 23 percent to 6.11 trillion dong.
Vinamilk's sales rose in September after the industrial chemical melamine was found in milk products from China, Saigon Securities Inc said in a research note. The chemical had been added to cheat in quality tests.
"Though consumers will be scared of milk and related products for a while, this incident is an opportunity for VNM in the longer term to get more market share from competitors who have melamine-contaminated products," SSI research said.
The Ho Chi Minh City-based company said late last month that its products were clean because it used imported raw material from the Europe, the United States and New Zealand.
Vinamilk is the domestic market leader with a share of 37 percent in dairy and beverages, while it is expanding into coffee and beer, SSI said.
The broker forecast Vinamilk's full-year net profit would rise to 1.29 trillion dong, above the company's full-year target of 1.14 trillion dong.
Vietnam's Health Ministry said on Tuesday that the country has nearly contained problem related to tainted milk products.
Shares in Vinamilk rose 4.7 percent to 89,500 dong on Tuesday, valuing the firm at $946 million, the second largest on the exchange after Petrovietnam Fertilizer and Chemicals Company.
The VN index closed up 4.75 percent at 389.33 points, having lost 58 percent this year after a rise of 23 percent in 2007.