D&L Industries earnings surpass pre-pandemic levels

Listed chemicals and food ingredients manufacturer D&L Industries Inc. saw its earnings in 2021 exceed the level achieved before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday, D&L Industries reported a net income of P2.643 billion, up 31% from P2.022 billion in 2020.

The company’s 2021 bottom line was also 1% higher compared to its pre-pandemic net earnings of P2.620 billion posted in 2019.

The recovery was mainly driven by increased economic activity as well as the robust performance of the company’s export business in 2021, D&L Industries said.

Lower corporate taxes provided by the CREATE Law had a 4% impact on the company’s 2021 net income.

D&L Industries also reported record revenues of P30.85 billion, a significant jump from P21.73 billion in 2020, with its export business accounting for 33% of the top line.

D&L Industries president and CEO Alvin Lao said that 2022 will be better than last year, after the dip in COVID-19 infections and the government's move to lower the alert levels as more Filipinos get vaccinated against the virus.

“While we are cautiously optimistic that we are likely at the tailend of the pandemic, we remain focused on our core competencies, ready to ride another wave of volatility brought about by recent geopolitical uncertainties,” said Lao.

"While Russia and Ukraine are not a significant part of our supplier or customer base, the ongoing conflict poses a threat to global recovery and has sent prices of key commodities skyrocketing over a short span of time," he said.

"In the near-term, we see demand affected by two opposing forces - continued economic reopening on one hand, and generally higher prices of basic commodities on the other."

Lao said the company will be entering more export markets by using the company’s research and development expertise to introduce more highly specialized, coconut-oil-based products.

"In addition, our Batangas expansion is expected to come online in January 2023 which will be a key milestone in boosting our export sales further," he said. — VBL, GMA News