DNL Q1 profit: P681-M (up 10% y/y)

D&L Industries [DNL 5.76 ?1.1%; 80% avgVol] [link] reported P681 million in Q1 net income (+10% y/y, +28% q/q), which the company attributes to the “continued growth in exports and ramp-up of operations in Batangas plant.” DNL’s Q1 sales were P14.3 billion (+62% y/y), but profitability was limited by “rising commodity prices” and the “noticeable slowdown and dampening of global business sentiment.” Despite those challenges, DNL sees opportunity in the chaos of Trump’s trade fiasco. The company notes that our relatively low reciprocal tariff rate (as compared to our ASEAN neighbors) “may put the Philippines in an advantageous position.”

 MB BOTTOM-LINE:  I adore how this company is operated, and how well it communicates its results to investors and shareholders. The Q1 press release contains a wealth of straight-forward financial information and relevant charts to give context to DNL’s earnings, and the management team does well to explain what’s happening in the market, explain how the management team is reacting to the market, and track the progress of the moves that it made in previous periods in reaction to previous “happenings”. It doesn’t try to overwhelm with jargon. It doesn’t get drippy or preachy with talk about “nation building”, and it doesn’t try to play games by cherry-picking info or minimizing the uglier parts (if any). DNL builds an enormous amount of trust and goodwill with investors by doing business this way. I wish more would follow.

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