By Phuong Nguyen and Zaheer Kachwala
(Reuters) -Vietnamese electric vehicle-maker VinFast (NASDAQ:VFS) boosted vehicle deliveries in the first quarter and tripled its revenue compared with a year ago, although its net loss widened by 3.5%, the company said on Wednesday.
It said it delivered nearly 9,700 in the first three months of the year, up 444% year-on-year.
VinFast chairwoman Thuy Le told Reuters over half of that number went to its affiliate Green SM, a taxi operator and leasing provider backed by VinFast founder and other 4% to its sibling company, Vinhomes.
VinFast said it was maintaining a 2024 goal of 100,000 EV deliveries despite intense price competition and global economic uncertainty clouding the outlook for car sales.
"VinFast sees the ongoing economic and geopolitical instability globally as a short-term challenge," Thuy said after the earnings release.
"Lower price products to be added in the coming quarters targeting a broader customer base combined with a growing dealership network and expansion to the market will ... help accelerate impact and drive growth in the second half (of the year)," she said.
Founded in 2017 and fully focused on EVs since 2022, VinFast, which started to sell in California last year, said it had signed distribution contracts with 10 new dealers in the United States, bringing their number to 16, as it plans to add more models in North America this year.
Its newly signed agents are expected to begin sales from the second quarter.
Shares in VinFast, backed by Vietnam's largest conglomerate Vingroup, were down 2.7% at $2.8 as of 0214 GMT.
The company's shares have fallen around 97% from a peak in August when it went public. The company is now valued at $7 billion.
"EV sector has been facing headwinds since the beginning of the year, VinFast share price just mirrors the sector and it may also be influenced by the relatively small free flow," Thuy said.
"We believe that in the long term, growth potential and the value of VinFast will be properly reflected in the share prices," she added.
The company's first quarter revenue more than tripled year-on-year to $302.6 million, although it was 31% lower than in the fourth quarter of last year.
Its net loss rose 3.5% to $618 million from a year ago, but was 12.3% lower than in the previous quarter.
($1 = 25,350.0000 dong)