Kido (KDC) Cuts Nuti KD Stake to 14.7%, Reclaims Merino and Celano Brands

Overview

Kido Group (HOSE: KDC) has reduced its ownership in Nuti KD to 14.7% of charter capital, ending the company’s status as an affiliate, and will re-establish ownership of the Merino and Celano trademarks. The move follows two share-transfer tranches executed under a December 2025 board resolution, and lands alongside H1 2026 audited net profit of nearly VND 100 billion, up 74% year-on-year.

Key Facts

• Kido holds 14.7% of Nuti KD’s charter capital as of 18 September 2026, down from affiliate-level ownership.
• The transfers follow Resolution No. KDC11.1/2025/NQ-HDQT dated 15 December 2025.
• Kido had agreed to sell 36.33 million shares, equal to 49% of Kido Frozen Foods, to Nutifood.
• An earlier 24.03% KDF stake sale to Nutifood was executed in 2023 but not approved at a 2024 extraordinary shareholders’ meeting.
• Shareholders approved cancelling Contract No. 02/2022/KDF-KIDO/HĐCN covering 34 trademarks, including Merino, Celano and Wel Yo, plus Contract No. 01/2022 covering 07 trademark applications.
• H1 2026 net revenue reached VND 4,345 billion, up 4.5% year-on-year; gross profit rose nearly 20% to VND 873 billion.
• Pre-tax profit reached nearly VND 149 billion (+76%) and net profit nearly VND 100 billion (+74%) versus H1 2025.
• The 2026 plan targets VND 12,000 billion in net revenue (+32%) and VND 700 billion in pre-tax profit (-4%); H1 fulfilled 36% of revenue and 21% of profit targets.

What Happened

Kido Group disclosed that it completed two tranches of share transfers in Kido Frozen Foods, now named Nuti KD International Food Joint Stock Company, under board Resolution No. KDC11.1/2025/NQ-HDQT dated 15 December 2025. As of 18 September 2026, Kido holds 14.7% of Nuti KD’s charter capital, so Nuti KD no longer qualifies as an affiliate of KDC. The resolution had covered the transfer of 36.33 million shares, equivalent to 49% of Kido Frozen Foods, to Nutifood Nutrition Food Joint Stock Company. An earlier sale of 24.03% of KDF to Nutifood was carried out in 2023 but was not ratified at a 2024 extraordinary shareholders’ meeting.

The transaction also touches the intellectual property behind the Merino and Celano ice-cream brands. Through written shareholder ballot, Kido shareholders approved cancelling Contract No. 02/2022/KDF-KIDO/HĐCN dated 30 June 2022 on the transfer of 34 trademarks, including Merino, Celano and Wel Yo, and Contract No. 01/2022/KDF-KIDO/HĐCN dated 30 June 2022 on the transfer of 07 trademark applications. Kido will carry out the necessary procedures to re-establish ownership of these trademarks for Kido Frozen Foods. Separately, the reviewed H1 2026 consolidated financial statements showed net revenue of VND 4,345 billion, up 4.5%, and net profit of nearly VND 100 billion, up 74%, which Kido attributed mainly to significantly higher income from joint ventures and associates, exceeding VND 120 billion after review.

Market Context

KDC closed at VND 51,100 on 18 September 2026 on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange. The consumer staples name has been reshaping its portfolio after the Nutifood-linked frozen-foods transactions, and the affiliate deconsolidation changes how the group’s earnings from that unit are reported. The profit beat was driven by associate income rather than core revenue growth of 4.5%, a distinction that matters for how the market reads the quality of the H1 result against a full-year plan that assumes lower pre-tax profit.

Strategic Significance

The reclamation of Merino and Celano is the more durable signal. Those trademarks were transferred out in 2022 as Kido restructured its ice-cream business, and reversing those contracts restores brand assets to the frozen-foods entity. For long-term holders, the thesis rests on whether Kido can rebuild a branded frozen-products platform without consolidating Nuti KD, while relying on associate income that is inherently less controllable. The 14.7% residual stake keeps optionality but removes control, so future value depends on trademark monetisation and the group’s core beverage and confectionery lines rather than the frozen-foods unit.

What to Watch

• Confirmation of completed trademark re-registration for Merino, Celano and Wel Yo with Vietnam’s intellectual property office.
• Any further disposal or retention decision on the remaining 14.7% Nuti KD stake.
• Q3 2026 results and whether associate income stays above VND 120 billion per half.
• Progress against the 2026 targets of VND 12,000 billion revenue and VND 700 billion pre-tax profit.
• Disclosure of the transaction value for the two Nuti KD share-transfer tranches, which the filings have not stated.