D&L Industries is sole PHL company on Forbes Asia's best 200 under a billion list

Publicly-listed D&L Industries Inc. is the only Philippine company that made it to Forbes Asia's 200 best under a billion list.

"The sole listee from the Philippines this year is D&L Industries, producer of food ingredients, plastics and chemicals," Forbes Asia said in a statement on Thursday.

D&L, owned by the Lao family, is manufactures customized food ingredients, specialty raw materials for plastics, and oleochemicals for personal and home care use.

According to Forbes Asia's data, the Philippine company recorded a net income of $50 million and sales of $430 million last year.

D&L closed 2015 with a revenue of P19.69 billion—around $420 million—and a net income of P2.28 billion or around $48 million.

The publication's "Best Under A Billion" list recognizes public companies in the Asia Pacific with annual revenue between $5 million and $1 billion. The net income must be positive, and the company publicly traded for at least a year.

"From 17,000 companies, the candidates are screened on sales growth and earnings growth in the past 12 months and over three years, and for the strongest five-year return on equity," Forbes Asia noted.

Meanwhile, companies from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan account for 65 percent of this year's list.

A total of 98 companies are from China and Hong Kong while 32 are from Taiwan.

South Korea has 16 companies on the list. Australia, India, and Pakistan have seven each.

In Southeast Asia, Singapore has two companies while Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam have 5, 4, and 5, respectively.

“Even if the Chinese economy continues to slow, the rest of Asia—if it is to carve out a bigger place on this SME (small medium enterprise) all-star list—is going to find big markets for high-value goods and services. Maybe the ASEAN trade treaties can help," said Tim Ferguson, editor of Forbes Asia. — Ted Cordero/VDS, GMA News