D&L INDUSTRIES, Inc. is allotting between P400 million and P420 million in capital expenditures for 2017, as it prepares plans to expand the capacity of its existing plants.
D&L President and Chief Executive Officer Alvin D. Lao said on Thursday the company is still finalizing expansion plans, but will likely make an announcement within the third quarter.
“We are approaching the point where we need to plan ahead since it will take two to three years to expand and we do not want to be caught unprepared,” he said after the firm’s annual stockholders’ meeting in Makati.
D&L’s capex for 2017 is 15% to 20% higher than the listed firm’s actual spending in 2016 amounting to P314 million.
At present, D&L and its subsidiaries have seven plants with a total capacity of 200,000 tons per year.
The company’s subsidiaries include Oleo-Fats, Inc., which manufactures and markets specialty food ingredients and specialty fats and oils; First in Colours, Inc. which engages in the manufacture and selling of dry colors, masterbatches, color compounds, plastic additives, and engineered polymers; Aero-Pack, which customizes aerosol products for homecare, personal care, and maintenance chemicals; and Chemrez Technologies, Inc., which introduced the first continuous process biodiesel plant in the country.
Meanwhile, the company also declared a regular cash dividend of 18.5 centavos per share alongside a special cash dividend of five centavos per share to all stockholders of record as of July 27.
This will bring shareholders’ total dividends to 23.5 centavos, or a dividend yield of 1.9% based on the price of shares at the close of July 12, or P12.60 apiece.
This year, the company is following a profit guidance of 15-19% growth, with its aerosol and food exports business seen as driving growth.
In the first quarter of 2017, D&L said its recurring income stood at P663 million, 15% higher than what it generated in the same period a year ago. D&L’s revenues, meanwhile, reached P6.3 billion, up by 35% year on year due to a 73% increase in export sales.
Shares in D&L dipped by 20 centavos or 1.59% to close at P12.40 apiece at the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday. — Arra B. Francia
