Hanoi Milk sees big revenue drop due to melamine

HANOI, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Vietnam's Hanoi Milk HNM.HN said on Monday its revenue this month could fall more than 70 percent from the same month last year after some of its products were found to contain the industrial chemical melamine.

"Revenue in September alone fell 70 percent and revenue this month would fall more than that," Nguyen Tuan Anh, managing director of the Hanoi-based firm, said.

Hanoi Milk is Vietnam's third-largest dairy product company.

Shares in Hanoi Milk lost 7.55 percent to close at 9,800 dong on Monday. That compares with a fall of 5.73 percent in the Hanoi exchange index.

Anh declined to provide any figures but in a statement via the exchange on Monday Hanoi Milk said its net profit in the third quarter of this year to end-September plunged 79 percent from the second quarter to 822 million dong ($50,000).

Vinamilk VNM.HM, Vietnam's second-largest listed company and the country's top dairy product maker, reported a 35.5 percent profit jump in the first nine months of this year, reflecting strong demand at home and soaring exports.

Analysts said Vinamilk has not been affected by a crisis in consumer confidence in milk products after a tainted milk scandal that originated in China.

Hanoi Milk said it had recalled several products including sweetened yoghurt earlier this month after tests found melamine in 11 input materials and products.

Anh said Hanoi Milk was operating at less than half of its capacity but the company expected full-scale output again by the end of the year.

It had bought melamine-detecting equipment for delivery next month to ensure product safety, Anh added. ($1=16,517 dong) (Reporting by Bui Thanh Huong; Editing by Alan Raybould)