DRL, MGG, NTH Set 15% Cash Dividends: Ex-Dates October 12-16

Overview

Three Vietnamese listed companies — Thủy điện - Điện lực 3 (DRL), Tổng Công ty Đức Giang (MGG) and Thủy điện Nước Trong (NTH) — announced cash dividends at a 15% rate, equivalent to VND 1,500 per share, with ex-dividend dates falling in the week of October 12-16, 2026. The announcements place two hydropower utilities and one industrial group among roughly nine companies paying cash dividends that week, the highest rate on the calendar. DRL trades on HOSE, where the payout schedule is the most immediately tradeable for foreign and domestic investors.

Key Facts

• DRL: 15% cash dividend (VND 1,500/share), ex-dividend date October 14, record date October 15, payment expected October 28, 2026.
• DRL has 9.5 million shares outstanding; the advance is expected to cost approximately VND 14.25 billion.
• DRL paid 15% in August 2026 for the remainder of 2025, bringing the total 2025 cash dividend to 47%, or VND 4,700 per share.
• MGG: 15% cash dividend (VND 1,500/share), record date October 13, payment expected October 20, 2026; about 9 million shares outstanding imply roughly VND 13.5 billion.
• NTH: 15% cash dividend (VND 1,500/share), ex-dividend date October 12, record date October 13, payment expected October 28, 2026.
• NTH has more than 10.8 million shares outstanding; the second 2026 advance is expected to cost about VND 16.2 billion.
• NTH’s two 2026 advances total 30% (VND 3,000/share), after a further 15% payment in May 2026 for the remainder of 2025.

What Happened

Thủy điện - Điện lực 3 (DRL) announced its first cash dividend advance for 2026 at a 15% rate, or VND 1,500 per share, according to the company’s disclosure. The record date to finalize the shareholder list is October 15, the ex-dividend date is October 14, and payment is scheduled for October 28, 2026. With 9.5 million shares outstanding, the company expects to disburse roughly VND 14.25 billion. DRL had already paid more than VND 14 billion to settle the remaining 2025 dividend at the same 15% rate, with an ex-dividend date of July 22 and payment on August 4, 2026. Across 2025, DRL made two advances totaling 32%; combined with the August 2026 payment, the full-year 2025 cash dividend reached 47%, or VND 4,700 per share, matching the level approved by the 2026 annual general meeting of shareholders.

Tổng Công ty Đức Giang (MGG) announced a 2025 cash dividend of 15%, or VND 1,500 per share, with a record date of October 13 and payment expected on October 20, 2026. With nearly 9 million shares outstanding, the payout is estimated at about VND 13.5 billion. MGG has maintained a consistent cash dividend tradition, with rates ranging from 15% to 35%; in 2017-2019 the rate reached 35% (VND 3,500 per share) before declining to 15% (VND 1,500 per share) in 2024 and holding at that level for 2025. Thủy điện Nước Trong (NTH) announced its second 2026 cash dividend advance at 15%, or VND 1,500 per share, with an ex-dividend date of October 12, record date October 13 and payment expected October 28, 2026. With more than 10.8 million shares outstanding, the company expects to pay about VND 16.2 billion. NTH made its first 2026 advance in August 2026 at 15%, taking the two-advance total for 2026 to 30%, or VND 3,000 per share; it also settled the remaining 2025 dividend at 15% in May 2026.

Market Context

DRL closed at VND 43,050 on October 10, 2026, on HOSE, putting the 15% advance at roughly 3.5% of the prevailing price on a single-payment basis. NTH closed at VND 50,000 on the same date, implying a similar single-payment yield near 3.0%, while MGG last closed at VND 24,500 on September 29, 2026, a higher relative payout of about 6.1%. The three announcements sit within a week in which roughly 15 companies scheduled dividend record dates and about nine paid in cash, with rates spanning from just under 1% to 15%. The cluster is consistent with the seasonal pattern in Vietnam’s hydropower and utility sector, where high-margin dry-season generation supports interim cash returns, and with a broader market in which listed companies continue to favor cash dividends over share issuances.

Strategic Significance

For long-term investors, the distinguishing feature is not the 15% headline rate — shared by all three — but the payout track record behind it. DRL’s 47% total cash dividend for 2025, formally ratified by the 2026 annual general meeting, signals that the company treats cash returns as a standing policy rather than a one-off, a profile that tends to attract income-oriented domestic holders and can support valuation floors in a market where many small-cap utilities retain earnings. NTH’s 30% of advances within a single year points to the same pattern, with the caveat that hydropower earnings are hydrology-dependent and the payout pace may not repeat in a weak-water year. MGG is the outlier: its dividend has compressed from 35% in 2017-2019 to a steady 15%, a trajectory that suggests a maturing industrial business with fewer growth outlets for retained capital, which income investors may read positively but growth investors will not.

What to Watch

• DRL’s ex-dividend trading on October 14 and NTH’s on October 12, 2026, to gauge whether the shares price in the payout or hold above the adjusted reference.
• Payment execution on October 20 for MGG and October 28 for DRL and NTH, 2026.
• DRL’s remaining 2026 dividend plan, given the 2025 precedent of two advances plus a final settlement.
• NTH’s third-quarter and full-year 2026 generation and hydrology data, which determine whether a further advance is feasible.
• Any 2026 annual general meeting resolutions at MGG that clarify whether the 15% rate remains the floor or could revert toward historical levels.