D&L, the supplier of ingredients to some of the country’s top restaurants and fast food groups, recorded a 6 percent profit growth to P1.32 billion during the first six months of the year while revenues jumped 17 percent to about P19 billion, a stock exchange filing on Tuesday showed.
For the second-quarter alone, profit rose 8 percent to P698 million while sales surged 30 percent to P10.14 billion over the same period last year. This was bolstered by a 33 percent increase in volume from higher margin products.
Ahead of target
D&L’s next-generation manufacturing facility became profitable in less than a year, ahead of the usual multi-year timeline, thanks to strong demand and efficient cost management.
“The second quarter of this year marks the turning point in our Batangas operations as it booked a quarterly profit for the first time since we started commercial operations in July 2023,” said Alvin Lao, the president of D&L.
“As we further ramp up operations and onboard new customers, we see gradually increasing earnings contribution from this new plant over time,” he added.
2024 growth outlook
“For this year, we are keeping our guidance at low double-digit growth in earnings,” Lao said.
“At the same time, we continue to monitor macro developments that may potentially dampen business sentiment, such as the higher-for-longer interest rates, lingering effects of inflation, depreciating peso, and even the potential hard landing or recession in the US,” he added.
Exports soar
D&L’s plant was built on a Philippine Economic Zone Authority-registered property, meaning it is tied to export targets.
In its first-half report, the company said exports hit an all-time high of 33 percent of total sales.
In the second quarter alone, export sales surged by 75 percent year-on-year, leading to a 57 percent growth for the first half.
This was driven by increased demand from both new and existing international customers.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
