Manila: Publicly-listed food and plastic input manufacturer D and L Industries is firm on increasing its exports sales to drive further growth, following an 8-percent year-on-year rise in net income in the first half of 2026. In an online briefing Wednesday, D and L Industries President and Chief Executive Officer Alvin Lao reported a first-half net income of PHP1.5 billion, with second-quarter earnings rising 10 percent to PHP786 million.

According to Philippines News Agency, high-margin specialty products (HMSP) such as customized food ingredients, specialty plastics, oleochemicals, and aerosols accounted for 51 percent of total sales as of end-June, up from 46 percent last year. Lao attributed this increase to recovering margins in HMSP food ingredients, with gross margins rising 3.5 percentage points year-on-year. This improvement was driven by normalized global coconut oil prices and portfolio optimization.

Lao noted that HMSP revenue contribution peaked at 69 percent in 2019, experienced a decline during the pandemic, and fell to 49 percent last year. However, the revenue contribution rebounded in the first half of the year, and Lao expressed optimism for sustained growth in the coming months.

To boost HMSP performance, Lao stated that the company is focusing on increasing export sales. 'We are continuing to reach out to our export clients, attend exhibitions, (and) conferences, to invest and try to keep growing our exports. We don't think it will go much lower. We are hopeful that exports will go back up again,' Lao said.

He emphasized the company's long-term goal of achieving 50 percent of revenues from exports, noting that exports have much higher gross profit margins at 18.5 percent compared to domestic revenue, which stands at 12.5 percent.