MANILA – D&L Industries Inc., a listed chemical and food ingredient manufacturer, is optimistic about bouncing back to its pre-pandemic level this year as it continues to see improvement in its income in the second half of the year.
In a press conference Wednesday, D&L president Alvin Lao said their net income in the second half of 2020 exceeded the PHP1-billion target as it rose 51 percent to PHP1.2 billion compared to the first semester of last year.
Although the company's net income for the full year of 2020 declined by 23 percent to PHP2.01 billion from PHP2.6 billion in 2019, the quarter-on-quarter net income growth rate is improving.
Lao said the net income for the fourth quarter of 2020 grew 11 percent to PHP637 million from PHP573 million in the third quarter last year.
D&L’s last quarter profit is also higher than the pre-pandemic level. Compared to the same quarter in 2019, its net income posted an 8-percent increase from PHP590 million.
“For now, our target is to hit the same level as 2019,” Lao said.
Even as the company is recovering ahead of the economy, he added that there is “still so much uncertainty” in the market.
“It’s really because of the position we’re in, where we cater to basic industries, so normally we’re ahead (in the recovery). We’re ahead except for the food side. Once Covid-19 is over, when the food side of the business kicks in, we will surpass the 2019 net income level, so we’re always ahead,” he told reporters.
D&L's business is in the manufacturing of food ingredients, chemicals for personal and home care use, specialty plastics, and aerosol and consumer products.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, all business segments posted growth in income except for food ingredients, which went down to PHP166 million by 45 percent from 2019’s fourth-quarter income of PHP302 million.
Restrictions limit food biz growth
Even if the government has gradually opened sectors of the economy, the demand has not yet fully come back to the pre-pandemic level, the executive said.
“If you’re not fully 100 percent, meaning there are still restrictions in the movement of people, they can’t go out, and afraid to go out, in that sense that that’s what’s really affecting our food business the most. While the restrictions in operations are there, you will not likely see that a full recovery yet,” Lao said.
Meanwhile, Lao said the company expects the completion of the construction of the First Industrial Township (FIT) within a special economic zone in Batangas by the end of the year.
Since they are located within an ecozone, he added that their focus is to ramp up their exports in line with the expansion plan.
In 2020, D&L's export revenues rose 34 percent to PHP6.3 billion from PHP4.7 billion in 2019 amid the pandemic.
Exports shared 29 percent of D&L’s total sales last year.
Lao said the travel restrictions abroad helped in making virtual business-to-business meetings more acceptable. It allowed the company to talk to more clients overseas than in the pre-pandemic years when they have to travel and meet their potential clients. (PNA)
