Vietnam Education Publishing House reported a record pre-tax profit of VND 384 billion (US$14.77 million) in 2024, up 12 percent from 2023, despite cutting textbook prices for key series, VN Express has reported.
Key points in the article include:
- Net revenue rose 14 percent to VND 3.10 trillion (US$119.23 million), with a gross profit margin of 25 percent. After-tax profit reached VND 345 billion (US$13.27 million), also an all-time high.
- Cost control played a key role: selling expenses dropped from VND 215 billion to VND 150 billion (US$8.27 million to US$5.77 million), and interest costs fell from VND 40 billion to VND 16 billion (US$1.54 million to US$0.62 million).
- Founded in 1957, Vietnam Education Publishing House is a state-owned monopoly under the Ministry of Education and Training, with charter capital of VND 596 billion (US$22.92 million) and nearly 40 subsidiaries and affiliated entities.
- It remains the largest textbook publisher in Vietnam, though was previously found by the Government Inspectorate to have abused its dominant market position to register unreasonably high textbook prices.
Of note, the performance of Vietnam’s state-backed publishing monopoly highlights the profit potential in regulated education sectors, even under political pressure to lower prices.
For foreign education and edtech firms, this reflects both market opportunity and regulatory constraint.
Although the sector is large and well-funded, state dominance limits entry, distorts pricing, and raises competition fairness concerns.
Foreign firms must account for the influence of SOEs in procurement, distribution, and pricing, and prepare for politically sensitive scrutiny if operating in core education materials or services.
See also: Vietnam’s Publishing Industry 2025: Market Overview & Key Players