The company has approved a plan to pay a 10% interim cash dividend for 2026, equivalent to VND1,000 ($0.04) per share. This will be the first cash dividend paid by MSR since its shares were registered on the unlisted public companies market (UPCoM).

Masan Vision Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Masan Group (MSN) that holds a 92.9% stake in MSR, is expected to receive about VND1.02 trillion ($39.38 million) in dividends.

The move comes as MSR's business performance has improved sharply, benefiting from a rising tungsten price cycle.

After posting losses for several quarters, Masan High-Tech Materials returned to profit in the second quarter of 2025, with net profit of about VND6 billion ($231,630), and posted full-year profit of VND11 billion ($424,650).

In the first half of 2026, the company's revenue surged to over VND11.13 trillion ($429.7 million), 3.71 times higher than a year earlier, while net profit reached over VND2.2 trillion ($85.02 million), a sharp improvement from a loss of VND216 billion ($8.34 million) in the same period last year.

The second quarter alone contributed nearly VND8.14 trillion ($314.2 million) in revenue and nearly VND1.67 trillion ($64.32 million) in net profit.

According to Masan Group, tungsten is benefiting from demand driven by the expansion of AI infrastructure, increased semiconductor capacity, and defence investment.

The average price of ammonium paratungstate (APT) reached $3,245 per metric ton unit (mtu) in the second quarter, significantly above the scenario assumed in the initial plan presented at the 2026 annual general meeting.

Strong business performance helped MSR accumulate over VND2.58 trillion ($99.73 million) in undistributed after-tax profit by the end of June, providing room for the dividend payout.

The outlook for the second half also remains positive as tungsten prices stay high amid rising investment in AI.

According to Masan Group, tungsten production and sales volumes continued to increase in July, helping revenue reach VND4.47 trillion ($172.57 million), 16.2 times higher than a year earlier.

The actual APT price declined but remained high, averaging $3,053 per mtu.

In addition, MSR management estimates that lower export taxes on fluorspar and bismuth products could add about $2.5 million to the company's profit in the second half of 2026.

MSR is also seeking to expand its mining potential at the Nui Phao mine.

In the second quarter, the company announced progress on plans to add about 115 million tons of resources in the expanded Nui Phao and Nui Chiem areas.

If approved by regulators, the additional resources could extend mining and processing operations by about 20 to 30 years.

At the same time, cooperation with GBI will provide MSR with additional raw materials under commitments from its partner, supporting plans to increase tungsten oxide production capacity to more than 8,000 tons of WO3.

These moves are expected to strengthen MSR's position as one of the few large-scale tungsten processing platforms outside China and expand its role in the global strategic materials supply chain, rather than relying solely on commodity price movements.

Improved finances, plans to move listing to HCMC bourse

Alongside the improvement in business performance, MSR is also seeking to reduce its financial leverage.

At the end of the second quarter, total borrowings and issued bonds stood at nearly VND13.29 trillion ($512.76 million), nearly VND2 trillion higher than at the start of the year.

However, cash and short-term financial investments also increased by nearly VND2.7 trillion to nearly VND4.34 trillion ($167.45 million).

Masan Group aims to reduce MSR's net debt-to-EBITDA ratio from 2.1 times in the second quarter of 2026 to about 1.7 times by year-end and achieve a net cash position by the end of 2027.

An improved financial structure is expected to reduce interest expenses, improve earnings quality, and give MSR greater capacity to pay dividends in the coming years.

Masan also plans to transfer MSR's registration on the UPCoM to Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) listing, in a move expected to improve liquidity and broaden access to investors.

In the stock market, MSR shares have risen sharply from around VND33,000 per share at the end of July to about VND50,000 ($1.93), a gain of 51.5%, following improved business results and a stronger outlook for tungsten prices.

Earlier this year, MSR also climbed from around VND25,000 per share in the first two months to a record high of VND50,000 before falling sharply with the broader market amid the conflict in the Middle East.

MSR shares are now trading around VND48,000 ($1.85) and remain under pressure as they seek to reclaim their previous peak.