D&L income up 15% in Q1

MANILA, Philippines - D&L Industries, a listed food ingredients and oleochemicals company, reported a net income of P633 million in the first quarter of the year, up 15 percent year-on-year.

In a briefing, D&L president Alvin Lao said for the whole year, the company expects to hit double-digit growth.

To support growth, the company is preparing to expand its capacity, he said.

“We’re planning for future expansion. We need more capacity and there are new products we want to get into,” Lao told reporters.

He said details of the expansion are still being worked out and could not yet be disclosed.

The company may start working on its expansion in the second half of the year.

One possible expansion is to add manufacturing plants. At present, the company has seven plants, which have an annual capacity of almost 200,000 tons a year.

In terms of revenues, the company posted total revenues of P6.3 billion, up 35 percent, supported by strong domestic demand and accelerated export sales.

Lao said export sales have been strong, growing 73 percent and hitting a record high contribution to total sales at 24 percent from just 18 percent last year.

The export business has picked up as a result of the company’s partnership with Ventura Foods, Lao said.

As a result, the food ingredients segment is now the biggest contributor to exports, with its export sales more than quadrupling this quarter.

This segment contributed 44 percent to total export sales compared with 19 percent in full year 2016.

“Our company continues to see growth across all segments,” Lao said.

He said the strong performance of the export business shows the company’s commitment to R&D and innovation is well appreciated overseas.

“Looking forward, we will continue to look for more ways to expand internationally to complement the growth in our domestic business,” Lao said.