D&L president and CEO Alvin Lao (file photo)
MANILA – D&L Industries, the country’s largest manufacturer of food ingredients and oleochemicals, has seen a sharp recovery in exports from January to March 2024 that boosted the operations of its newest production line in Batangas province.
In a virtual media briefing Wednesday, D&L president and chief executive officer Alvin Lao reported that the company’s export revenues for the first quarter of 2024 jumped 32 percent, nearing its record-high full-year export growth of 33 percent in 2021.
Lao said D&L’s exports in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024 increased to PHP2.9 billion from PHP2.1 billion in the same period last year.
A bulk, or 51 percent, of the exports are food, followed by oleochemicals at 33 percent, and specialty plastics at 16 percent.
Lao said that with the improvement in overseas orders, D&L’s Batangas plant has exceeded its export commitment to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA). Based on its pledge to PEZA, at least half of the output from the Batangas plant should be sold to foreign markets.
As of March 2024, the Batangas plant has delivered 230 percent of its first-year commitment to PEZA.
D&L’s latest manufacturing plant began its commercial operation in July 2023.
“Our long-term goal is to eventually hit 50 percent of revenue coming from exports,” Lao said.
There will be new clients for D&L this year that will further boost the operations of the Batangas line, he added.
With the improvement in export orders that boosted the operation of the Batangas plant, Lao expects that the Batangas facility will break even ahead of schedule, which is initially expected in two years.
D&L spent PHP10.5 billion to build its newest production facility in Batangas.
In Q1 2024, D&L’s net income grew by 4 percent to PHP618 million from PHP594 million in Q1 last year.
Lao said increasing the local sourcing for D&L will help the company improve its net income as this will shield the listed firm from the volatile price in the global market and foreign exchange rate.
“We want to source as much as possible primarily, because it means we don’t need to buy in dollars,” Lao said. (PNA)
