D&L Industries Inc. said Friday net income may hit P3.1 billion this year amid easing of mobility restrictions and reopening of the domestic economy.
D&L president and chief executive Alvin Lao said in a news briefing first-quarter net income rose 12 percent to P780 million from a year ago, despite the Omicron surge in January and higher prices of raw materials.
“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. Barring another unforeseen event, simply annualizing our first quarter earnings will yield P3.1 b billion, which is already at par with our record net income booked in 2018,” Lao said.
Lao attributed the company’s better-than-expected first-quarter performance to strong sales, which jumped by 45 percent year-on-year. Export revenues now account for 34 percent of total revenues.
Coconut-based products under food and oleochemicals were the main drivers for the robust export growth in the period.
The company expects coconut oil-based exports to continue strengthen, which should offset some of the weakness in the domestic market in the near term.
D&L’s commodity division, which sells straight oils for food application and biodiesel, saw its volume grow by 18 percent in the first quarter.
It said that as a result of the strong commodity growth, the sales mix tilted towards commodities which accounted for 47 percent of total sales, while sales from high-margin specialty products grew by 29 percent.
Lao said while prices of some of key raw materials such as coconut and palm oil significantly increased in the first quarter, the company was able to adjust its selling price regularly to reflect higher input costs.