Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company (HoSE: VJC) reported Q3 2026 consolidated pre-tax profit of VND 410 billion, up 3%, and net profit of VND 348 billion, up 9% year on year.Mekong ASEAN For the first nine months, net profit reached VND 1,721 billion, up 7%, which the company's filing to HoSE puts at about 82% of the full-year profit plan.Vietjet IR
Behind that profit, the quarter's revenue mix deserves a closer read. Flight operating costs were VND 17,986 billion, about VND 1,210 billion above air transport revenue of VND 16,775 billion.Vietjet IR A year earlier, transport revenue still exceeded those costs by about VND 1,462 billion (calculated from notes 26 and 27 of the same report). At the same time, the arrangement, ownership transfer and trading line for aircraft and engines booked VND 4,356 billion of revenue.
All figures below come from Vietjet's Q3/2026 consolidated financial statements (including subsidiaries), published on October 30, 2026.
Revenue up 35%, two-thirds of the increase from aircraft
Net revenue for the quarter was VND 22,849 billion, against VND 16,931 billion in Q3/2025, an increase of about VND 5,918 billion.Kinh tế & Môi trường The largest contributor was the aircraft and engine arrangement, ownership transfer and trading segment: VND 4,356 billion versus VND 434.6 billion a year earlier, about 10 times higher.Vietjet IR That segment alone added roughly VND 3,921 billion, about two-thirds of the quarter's total revenue increase.
Air transport, the core business, grew more slowly: VND 16,775 billion versus VND 15,906 billion, about 5.5%. Inside it, the lines moved in opposite directions. Domestic passenger revenue was VND 3,732 billion, down 5%. International passenger revenue was VND 3,881 billion, down 14%.Mekong ASEAN Ancillary services (baggage, ticket changes, onboard sales) edged up about 1.8% to VND 6,155 billion, and flight leasing revenue reached VND 3,008 billion, about 2.1 times the VND 1,432 billion of a year earlier.
Volumes did grow. Vietjet carried nearly 7.3 million passengers on 39,000 flights, up 3.3% and 2.4%; domestic passengers alone topped 4.6 million, up 9.5%.Vietjet IR So domestic traffic rose by almost a tenth while domestic passenger revenue fell 5%. The two numbers move in opposite directions, and this article records that without inferring a cause.
Sale-and-leaseback: how an airline raises capital
The notes to the report explain the VND 4,356 billion line: the group carries out sale-and-leaseback transactions on aircraft and engines "as a capital-raising solution in the aviation industry", while continuing to manage and operate those assets and pay rent.Vietjet IR
Put simply, the airline sells an aircraft (or an engine) to a lessor, receives cash immediately, then signs a lease to keep flying the same asset. The airline gets cash to pay for new aircraft and, in return, pays rent for many years. It is a common way for airlines to raise funds, particularly those taking delivery of new aircraft continuously.
On accounting, Vietjet's policy states that if the sale price equals fair value, the gain or loss is recognized in the period; any amount above fair value is spread over the lease term. A quarter with many transactions therefore concentrates revenue and profit in that quarter. In its October 30 explanatory letter, the company said it is applying commercial and financial solutions to the fleet to improve operating efficiency and raise funds for aircraft purchase deposits, supporting fleet expansion.Vietjet IR
The segment has its own cost of sales: VND 1,506 billion in Q3, leaving about VND 2,850 billion after cost. In Q3/2025 this cost line was zero, so the full VND 434.6 billion of revenue was margin. Against a year earlier, the segment contributed roughly VND 2,415 billion more gross profit.
Gross margin thins as flying costs outgrow flying revenue
Total gross profit for Q3 was VND 2,037 billion, down 3%, and the gross margin fell from 12% in Q3/2025 to nearly 9%.Mekong ASEAN Flight operating costs rose from VND 14,444 billion to VND 17,986 billion, about 24.5%, while transport revenue grew only about 5.5%. Vietjet explains that, like other regional airlines, it was affected by tension in the Middle East that kept jet fuel prices high, and adds that fuel prices have improved compared with the earlier period.Vietjet IR
One caveat on this comparison: depreciation and other costs sit on separate lines and are not allocated by segment. Subtracting flight operating costs from transport revenue is therefore not the exact gross profit of the flying business. It does show the direction versus a year ago: from a surplus of about VND 1,462 billion to a shortfall of about VND 1,210 billion.
Below gross profit, selling and administrative expenses both fell 5%, and financial income rose 27% to nearly VND 464 billion. Interest expense for the quarter was VND 1,069 billion, up 15%.Mekong ASEAN
Nine months: over 81% of the pre-tax profit plan reached
For the first nine months, net revenue was VND 74,385 billion, up 41%. Pre-tax profit was VND 1,972.5 billion, down 4%, and consolidated net profit was VND 1,721 billion, up 7% from VND 1,614 billion. The 2026 plan calls for consolidated revenue of VND 86,774 billion and consolidated pre-tax profit of VND 2,421 billion.Mekong ASEAN After nine months the company has reached about 86% of its revenue plan and 81.5% of its pre-tax profit plan. To meet the pre-tax target, Q4 needs about VND 448.5 billion, roughly 9% above Q3's VND 410 billion.
The September 30 balance sheet: cash moving into aircraft awaiting delivery
Consolidated total assets at September 30, 2026 were VND 152,790 billion, up nearly 10% from the start of the year. Cash and cash equivalents were VND 5,210 billion, down 53% from VND 10,987 billion; adding term deposits and short-term loans, the company holds about VND 9,835 billion.Kinh tế & Môi trường
Much of that cash went into assets under construction. Construction in progress rose to VND 22,220 billion, up 60%, of which VND 18,101 billion is aircraft investment and related costs, VND 3,127 billion is major inspection and repair, and VND 889 billion is for aircraft maintenance centers 3 and 4 at Long Thanh airport.Mekong ASEAN Short-term trade receivables reached VND 22,575 billion, up nearly 65%; according to the notes as relayed by Kinh tế & Môi trường, this includes aircraft purchase deposits transferred under capital cooperation contracts.
Total borrowings and finance lease liabilities are about VND 73,635 billion, of which VND 29,500 billion is long-term bonds. Nine-month interest expense was VND 2,748.5 billion, higher than pre-tax profit for the same period.Kinh tế & Môi trường Equity was VND 26,580 billion, up 7%. Vietjet describes its net debt-to-equity ratio of 2.4 times and current ratio of 1.38 times as safe levels for the aviation industry, given its increased aircraft investment.Vietjet IR
Read side by side, these lines fit the company's explanation: cash is moving into new aircraft and maintenance centers, while sale-and-leaseback deals bring in both cash and profit in the quarter they are recorded.
How to read the numbers as a VJC holder
VJC closed on November 2 at VND 132,300.
The headline "nine-month revenue up 41%" is easy to read as the flying business growing very fast. Q3 supports a more precise reading: transport revenue still grew about 5.5%, but most of the revenue increase and the added gross profit came from aircraft transactions. Two figures sit side by side: the transactions segment added about VND 2,415 billion of gross profit, while the gap between transport revenue and flight operating costs worsened by about VND 2,670 billion. The report does not allow an exact attribution to final profit, so this article goes no further than that.
Aircraft transactions are booked deal by deal, so their size can vary a lot from quarter to quarter. The conclusion: Q3 profit stands on two legs, a thinner flying business and a thicker aircraft-transaction segment, and the second has no quarterly track record yet to judge how repeatable it is. The Q4 report, due before the end of January 2027, will answer two specific questions: does transport revenue move back above flight operating costs as fuel prices ease, and does Q4 deliver the roughly VND 448.5 billion of pre-tax profit the annual plan requires. If transport revenue overtakes costs again, profit from aircraft deals is an addition. If the gap stays negative, Q4 profit will again track the size of aircraft transactions booked in the quarter.