D&L eyes strong final qtr. profits

D&L Industries Inc., a producer of specialty food ingredients and oleochemicals, is expecting to surpass last year's P2.3 billion profits amid an anticipated surge in fourth-quarter performance.

During a media briefing on Wednesday, D&L President and CEO Alvin D. Lao reported that the firm’s net income for the first nine months reached P1.8 billion, which means that the company only needs an additional P520 million to match 2023’s full-year profit.

“We did P493 million in the third quarter. The fourth quarter should be better, especially for the food segment because it’s the Christmas season so we should see 2024 better than last year,” Lao said.

While he acknowledged that it is premature to determine the precise increase in earnings in the last quarter, he noted that consumer spending remained robust during this period despite price increases.

3-qtr profit up 1%

For the first nine months, D&L’s recurring income grew by 1 percent year-on-year, totaling P1.8 billion.

In the third quarter alone, earnings stood at P493 million, reflecting an 11 percent year-on-year (YoY) decline, primarily due to a higher cost base from the recent commissioning of new production lines at the company’s Batangas plant.

“What we are seeing now is the natural cycle of operating a new plant. As we further ramp up operations, the cost base will increase but this should be offset by the new business that we expect to come in,” Lao said.

“Strong export sales continue to drive overall business amidst the generally cautious consumer sentiment in the domestic market. So far this year, exports is outpacing domestic performance. Export sales are up 38 percent YoY with gross profits up 24 percent YoY,” he added.

Exports continued their positive momentum throughout the first nine months of 2024, reaching a total of P9.2 billion in sales, a 38 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, export gross profits also rose by 24 percent year-on-year.

With the commercial operations of the Batangas plant, the company now has the capability and capacity to be able to supply to bigger export customers.