CPH Hai Phong Funeral Services Announces 20.22% Cash Dividend for 2025

Overview

Hai Phong Funeral Services Joint Stock Company (CPH) has announced a cash dividend of 2,022 VND per share (20.22%) for the fiscal year 2025. The record date is set for May 13, 2026, with payment on May 25, 2026. This dividend represents a yield of over 600% relative to the stock’s current market price of 300 VND, highlighting the extreme divergence between the company’s payout policy and its trading liquidity.

Key Facts

• CPH declared a cash dividend of 2,022 VND per share for 2025, equivalent to a 20.22% dividend rate.
• Record date for the dividend is May 13, 2026; payment date is May 25, 2026.
• Total estimated payout is nearly VND 9 billion based on 4.4 million outstanding shares.
• The stock trades at 300 VND per share on UPCoM, implying a dividend yield of approximately 674%.
• The Hai Phong City People’s Committee holds 64.5% of CPH, resulting in extremely thin public float and near-zero liquidity.
• CPH reported 2025 net revenue of VND 151 billion, flat year-on-year, with net profit around VND 10 billion.
• The company’s highest-margin segment is tomb construction (64% gross margin), while funeral services have only a 4.1% gross margin.

What Happened

According to a company announcement, CPH has set the record date for its 2025 cash dividend at May 13, 2026, with payment scheduled for May 25, 2026. The dividend of 2,022 VND per share (20.22%) is nearly seven times the stock’s current market price of 300 VND. The company has 4.4 million shares outstanding, and the total dividend payout is expected to be approximately VND 9 billion.

CPH is a state-owned enterprise converted from a 100% state-owned limited liability company in 2015, with the Hai Phong City People’s Committee retaining a 64.5% stake. The company provides funeral, burial, cremation, and cemetery management services, as well as selling related goods and constructing tombs. Despite its niche business, CPH has consistently paid cash dividends of 15-20% annually.

Market Context

CPH trades on UPCoM with extremely low liquidity due to its concentrated shareholder base. The stock has been stuck at 300 VND per share for years, with minimal trading volume. The announced dividend yield of over 600% is an anomaly driven by the stock’s illiquidity rather than operational performance. CPH’s 2025 net profit of around VND 10 billion is stable but not growing, and the dividend payout of VND 9 billion consumes nearly all of the year’s earnings.

Strategic Significance

For long-term investors, CPH represents a unique case of a state-dominated micro-cap with a high dividend policy that is unsustainable relative to earnings. The dividend yield is misleading because the stock price is artificially low due to lack of trading. The company’s business is stable but low-growth, with funeral services generating thin margins while tomb construction and goods sales provide higher profitability. The concentrated ownership structure means minority shareholders have little influence, and the stock’s illiquidity makes it difficult to exit positions.

What to Watch

• Future dividend announcements and payout ratios relative to net profit.
• Any changes in the shareholder structure, particularly potential stake sales by the city government.
• Quarterly earnings reports to assess margin trends in funeral services versus higher-margin segments.
• Trading volume and price movements on UPCoM, which may indicate any shift in liquidity.
• Regulatory changes affecting funeral services or state-owned enterprise dividend policies.