D&L Industries Inc. is confident of its prospects despite a 15 percent decline in nine-month profit to P2 billion from last year’s P1.74 billion.
In the third quarter alone, net income fell 29 percent to P617 million.
Sales was at P16.56 billion, down 18 percent from P20.17 billion last year.
“We believe that we are at the bottom of the cycle in terms of net income decline… We’re already seeing signs of our business picking up, especially in the food segment where margins and sales mix are continuing to improve,” said Alvin Lao, D&L president.
Among the factors that led to a slow nine months were the delayed passage of government budget as well as the ongoing US-China trade war which slowed the company’s exports.
Lao said D&L’s domestic business is seen to start recovering in the fourth quarter although exports may not bounce back as fast.
The optimism is credited to the “continued easing in inflation, the boost in the economy due to lower interest rates and reserve requirements, and the reduction in port congestion.”
