D&L on track of P1.38-B income target

MANILA, Philippines - Food ingredient and specialty plastic additive manufacturer D&L Industries remains optimistic that profits would continue to grow at least 15 percent every year as it continues to focus on higher-margin customized and specialty products.

D&L executive vice-president and CFO Alvin Lao said the company is on track to meet its P1.38 billion income target this year given robust nine-month results.

Lao said the firm would continue to benefit from tremendous opportunities in the food service market as existing customers add more stores and expand product offerings, and new players emerge.

D&L’s  goal is to double net income every five years, he said.

In the nine months through September, D&L posted a net income of P1.04 billion, up 25 percent from the same period in 2012 as all business segments continued to grow.

Aggregate revenues, however, fell nine percent to P7.7 billion due to lower commodity prices.

High margin specialty products accounted for 69 percent of the group’s overall sales while low margin commodities comprised  31 percent.

Lao citied the momentum in exports as sales surged 82 percent  year-on-year, driven by strong volume growth.

D&L’s 34-percent owned unit Chemrez Technologies earned P231 million in the first three quarters of the year, three percent more than the same period last year.