D&L sees record income in 2022

MANILA, Philippines — D&L Industries, the listed chemicals manufacturer, reported a net income of P2.5 billion in the nine months to September, up 17 percent year-on-year.

This is already at par with the P2.6 billion full year income reported in 2021 and marks the highest nine-month income in the company’s history.

“With the strong earnings momentum so far this year and near-term catalysts such as the anticipated holiday-induced spending and the lifting of mask requirements indoors, our earnings are on-track to possibly exceed our record net income booked in 2018,”  D&L president and CEO Alvin Lao said in a recent press briefing.

In the third quarter alone, D&L booked a record net income of P910 million, up 18 percent year-on-year.

Across its different business segments, food ingredients posted a volume growth of 24 percent  but earnings declined by six percent due to the extreme volatility in commodity prices this year.

Strong demand for organic coconut oil-based products, meanwhile, boosted Chemrez’s performance as it posted a record quarterly income.

Overall, Chemrez’s earnings grew by 53 percent during the nine-month period.

Oleochemicals division, the main growth driver, saw its volume rise by 51 percent year-on-year.

The company’s specialty plastics business saw net income rise by 12 percent even as volume declined by 18 percent.

“The drop in volume was mainly due to the disruptions brought about by the Omicron surge in January and the global shortage of semiconductor chips used in automotive which resulted in lower demand for wire harness,” D&L said.

Consumer products previously referred to as aerosols, saw income decline by 23 percent due to higher raw material prices but earnings were still well-above pre-pandemic income level.

Lao said the exports division continued its positive momentum with revenues jumping 60 percent year-on-year.

Export contribution to total revenues for the month stood at 33 percent, which shows the company’s commitment to diversifying its revenue base.

Lao said that while global macro concerns remain, the company is buoyed by strong fundamentals.

“We look forward to the commercial operations of our Batangas plant starting next year. This will be instrumental in enabling our next leg of growth by helping to expand our global footprint and further advance our R&D and manufacturing capabilities,” Lao  said.

D&L expects its new Batangas facility to start commercial operations in 2023.

As of the end of September, the company spent around P8.3 billion out of the total estimated capex for the facility of P10.2 billion.