D&L Industries' Q1 earnings surpass pre-pandemic levels

Listed chemicals and food ingredients manufacturer D&L Industries Inc. saw its earnings for the first quarter of 2022 surpass pre-pandemic levels.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday, D&L reported a net income of P780 million in the first three months of the year, up 12% from the P695 million posted in the first quarter of 2021.

The company's bottom line also surpassed the net income of P748 million recorded in the first quarter of 2019 and the earnings of P744 million posted in the first quarter of 2018.

The first quarter of 2022 earnings represent the highest income level for the company in three years, despite the Omicron surge in January, D&L said.

The company attributed the better-than-expected earnings mainly to the strong performance of its oleochemicals division and exports, which more than offset the drag from the Omicron surge.

With a lower COVID-19 alert level in place and a continued decline in new cases in the country, the company said it sees a continued buildup in momentum and renewed business optimism for further recovery.

“Considering the surprise turn of events in the early part of the year such as the Omicron surge and Russia-Ukraine conflict, our first quarter 2022 results show that momentum is definitely there with the easing of restrictions and opening up of businesses,” said D&L president and CEO Alvin Lao.

“In the near-term, demand will likely be defined by two opposing forces - continued economic reopening on one hand, and generally higher prices of basic commodities on the other. As a capability-driven company that enables other businesses, we continue to see various opportunities to help our customers navigate the ever-changing business environment whether in the form of coming up with new innovative products or sourcing raw materials in an environment full of supply chain disruptions,” he added.

The company also said that it remains committed to its Batangas facility expansion, which is set to start commercial operations in January 2023. 

Total capital expenditure for the project is expected to be P9.1 billion. 

D & L said that as of the end of March 2022, it had spent approximately P7.2 billion on the project.

In September 2021, the company executed its maiden bond offering, successfully raising P5 billion to help fund the remaining capex for this expansion.

The expanded facility will mainly cater to D&L's growing export businesses in the food and oleochemicals segments.

According to D&L, the facility will allow the company to add the capability of producing downstream packaging, allowing it to capture a larger portion of the production chain. —VBL, GMA News