HIGHER-margin products lifted the recurring net income of chemical firm D and L Industries Inc. during January to September to P2.12 billion, 10 percent higher from last year’s P1.92 billion as the company has high hopes of achieving the same pace of growth for the rest of the year.
“The high base effect of last year is not applicable anymore in our third-quarter income,” company President and CEO Alvin Lao said.
“The flattish growth we saw in the second quarter was a temporary effect of the high earnings based in 2016, which was boosted by election-related spending,” Lao added. “Moving forward, we continue to see robust growth across all our segments. This will be supported by the still vibrant domestic economy, strong growth in our export sales and our continued investments in research and development.”
Sales rose 25 percent to P19.93 billion, from last year’s P15.94 billion.
High-margin products accounted for 58 percent of revenues, while the remaining 42 percent was accounted for by other commodities in the first nine months of the year.
For the period, export sales grew by 74 percent year-on-year to close to P5 billion, from last year’s P2.85 billion, a record high for the company as a result of its partnerships with food firms Ventura and Bunge.
The food-ingredients segment is now the biggest contributor to exports, contributing 45 percent to total export sales compared with just 19 percent in full year 2016.
The contribution of exports to total sales now stands at 25 percent, from just 18 percent during the full year 2016.
The food-ingredients segment grew its earnings by 7 percent in the first nine months of the year, while unit Chemrez increased its earnings by 12 percent for the period, despite weakness in the biodiesel business.
Biodiesel, a low-margin commodity, saw its volume decline by 26 percent for the period, but the figure was narrower compared with the 33-percent volume drop during the first half. VG Cabuag