D&L expects boom amid outbreak of COVID-19

D&L has high hopes for profiting highly this year despite the onslaught of the Delta variant of COVID-19.

Image courtesy of Bilyonaryo

D&L, a Philippine manufacturer of ingredients for foods and plastic products, hopes for the increasing vaccinations against COVID-19 to return it to a pre-pandemic level of profitability amid the surge of the Delta variant of COVID-19.

Alvin Lao, president of D&L, told the Philippine News Agency in a virtual press briefing on Wednesday that vaccinations against COVID-19 have been rising from 500,000 to 700,000, with more vaccines coming every month, adding, “Assuming that the income for the first half holds steady for the remainder of the year, we are set to reach our 2019 income level. Moreover, we see emerging positive catalysts in the horizon such as the onset of the Christmas season, an additional spending boost coming from the 2022 election campaigns, and progress on the country’s vaccination efforts that can provide upside surprises”.

Lao expects minimal impact from the new restrictions over the Delta variant this month due to the negative effects of the enhanced and modified-enhanced community quarantines on companies during the second half.

D&L reported a growth of its earnings by 134 per cent to 671 million Philippine pesos in the second quarter of the year, bringing them to 1.39 billion for the first half, up by 74 per cent annually.

Lao recounted reports of the surge of Delta cases throughout the Asian Southeast, adding, “So far, we haven’t seen in the Philippines daily counts higher than what we have seen before. Knock on wood. Hopefully, this ECQ really works. If it does work, then I think we have a lot of confidence to say our third quarter should be around the same level as the first and second quarters”.

He said that D&L may be profiting highly in 2022 with 3.187 billion Philippine pesos booked in 2018, citing the recent increase of vaccinations among its employees by more than 80 percent and adding, “We will continue to encourage people to get vaccinated and the emphasis is keeping fellow workers safe and also keeping the family safe”.