November 6, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — D&L Industries Inc., the country’s leading specialty food ingredients and oleochemicals producer, expects to hit a 10 percent profit growth this year following the company’s strong performance from January to September.
“Our target net income growth for the full year is 10 percent. Currently, we’re at eight percent year-on-year, nine months versus nine months last year. So it’s not that far from the 10 percent target,” D&L president and CEO Alvin Lao said yesterday.
“We’re going to try our best to hit that, but it will depend on some factors. We’re hoping that the Philippine economy will continue to do relatively well. So we’re optimistic in that sense,” he said.
From January to September, D&L reported an eight percent increase in net income to P1.95 billion from P1.81 billion in the same period in 2024, mainly driven by the resilient volume growth amid elevated coconut oil prices.
Lao said that the operating environment remains challenging, with coconut oil prices reaching a new all-time high in the third quarter.
Coconut oil, a key raw material for the company, saw its average price surge by 78 percent year-on-year during the nine-month period.
In the third quarter alone, D&L said that prices reached a new all-time high of nearly $3,000 per metric ton, almost triple the lows recorded in 2023.
“Despite this, we delivered an eight percent earnings growth for the period – driven mainly by healthy volume expansion, which underscores the fundamental strength of our business. While we cannot control commodity price movements, we can control how we navigate these challenges and where we direct our focus and resources,” Lao said.
Overall volume growth, however, remained resilient despite the challenging cost environment as D&L’s total volume rose by 11 percent year-on-year, supported by both high-margin specialty products and commodities.
The company’s export business continued to perform strongly, with revenues soaring by 20 percent year-on-year to P11 billion.
Exports accounted for 27 percent of total revenues for the nine-month period, with the company targeting to raise the share to 50 percent over the medium-term.
D&L said it is actively exploring new markets and applications where coconut oil’s natural and sustainable profile offers a competitive edge to further expand its exports business.
“Regardless of near-term market noise, our focus remains on executing our long-term strategies. We are still in the early stages of realizing the full potential of our Batangas plant, which we believe will anchor the next phase of our growth,” Lao said.
Looking into next year, Lao is optimistic that 2026 will be a better year for D&L’s business.
“From what we see, interest rates are coming down, not just in the Philippines, but even in the US and in other markets as well. That usually has a big impact on the economy. So from that perspective, 2026 should be better,” Lao said.
“You can see that our exports are continuing to do well. We have a lot more (overseas) customers lined up and we have a lot more plans to continue to grow exports,” he said.