Former NEDA Chief Chua joins D&L Board
D&L declares record P2.1 B cash dividends
Published Jun 5, 2023 07:29 am
D&L Industries Inc., the country’s top specialty food ingredients and oleochemicals producer, has elected former Secretary of the National Economic and Development Authority Karl Kendrick T. Chua as independent director while announcing a record P2.1 billion in cash dividends.
D&L Industries Independent Director Karl Kendrick T. Chua
During the firm’s annual stockholders’ meeting today Chua was elected to D&L Industries’ Board of Directors to take the place of Filemon T. Berba, who served on D&L’s Board from 2012 until his passing last April 4, 2023. With Chua on the Board, four out of seven seats or a majority of the board continue to be held by independent directors. The three other independent directors are Atty. Mercedita S. Nolledo, Corazon S. de la Paz-Bernardo, and Dr. Lydia R. Balatbat-Echauz. Prior to heading NEDA, Chua was previously with the World Bank as an economist and Undersecretary for Strategy, Economics, and Results at the Department of Finance. He has extensive experience in the areas of economic and fiscal policy, statistical development, national identification, labor and social protection policy, poverty analysis, and digital transformation, among others. He is a recipient of the 2018 Outstanding Young Men and Women of the Philippines (TOYM) Award in the field of Economic Development. “We are pleased to welcome Karl to our Board of Directors. He brings a fresh perspective with his distinguished experience as an economist, working for the World Bank for over a decade and serving the government in various strategic leadership roles thereafter,” said D&L President & CEO Alvin Lao. He added that, “With independent directors continuing to hold a majority of our Board, the company remains committed to upholding good governance and transparency.” In the same shareholders’ meeting, D&L announced a record dividend of P0.30 per share consisting of a regular cash dividend of P0.24 per share plus a special cash dividend of P0.06 per share to shareholders of record as of June 20. Ex-date is on June 15 and payment will be made on July 14. In total, shareholders will receive a P 0.30 dividend per share, or a dividend yield of 4.3 percent based on June 2’s closing price of P6.99 per share. This year’s dividend amounting to P2.14 billion or an increase of 25 percent from last year’s P1.71 billion, is equivalent to 65 percent of last year’s recurring income. Including this year’s payment, the Company has returned a total of P15.3 billion in cash to shareholders through dividends since the IPO in 2012. The company also paid a 100% stock dividend in September 2015. D&L said its management remains highly committed to its dividend policy of a 50 percent payout ratio based on prior year’s net income. It has also been able to declare special dividends for three years in a row now since it was paused in 2020 due to the uncertainties brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the completion of the Batangas plant by the middle of the year, the company’s capex is expected to start decreasing immediately which, in turn, will most likely result in positive free cash flow (FCF) for the company starting this year. In fact, in the first quarter of 2023, the company’s FCF turned positive for the first time in two years, at P890 million. As there are no other major capex planned aside from the expansion plan in Batangas, the improvement in cash flows gives the company the financial flexibility to further reduce debt levels over time and continue paying dividends.
D&L Industries Independent Director Karl Kendrick T. Chua
During the firm’s annual stockholders’ meeting today Chua was elected to D&L Industries’ Board of Directors to take the place of Filemon T. Berba, who served on D&L’s Board from 2012 until his passing last April 4, 2023. With Chua on the Board, four out of seven seats or a majority of the board continue to be held by independent directors. The three other independent directors are Atty. Mercedita S. Nolledo, Corazon S. de la Paz-Bernardo, and Dr. Lydia R. Balatbat-Echauz. Prior to heading NEDA, Chua was previously with the World Bank as an economist and Undersecretary for Strategy, Economics, and Results at the Department of Finance. He has extensive experience in the areas of economic and fiscal policy, statistical development, national identification, labor and social protection policy, poverty analysis, and digital transformation, among others. He is a recipient of the 2018 Outstanding Young Men and Women of the Philippines (TOYM) Award in the field of Economic Development. “We are pleased to welcome Karl to our Board of Directors. He brings a fresh perspective with his distinguished experience as an economist, working for the World Bank for over a decade and serving the government in various strategic leadership roles thereafter,” said D&L President & CEO Alvin Lao. He added that, “With independent directors continuing to hold a majority of our Board, the company remains committed to upholding good governance and transparency.” In the same shareholders’ meeting, D&L announced a record dividend of P0.30 per share consisting of a regular cash dividend of P0.24 per share plus a special cash dividend of P0.06 per share to shareholders of record as of June 20. Ex-date is on June 15 and payment will be made on July 14. In total, shareholders will receive a P 0.30 dividend per share, or a dividend yield of 4.3 percent based on June 2’s closing price of P6.99 per share. This year’s dividend amounting to P2.14 billion or an increase of 25 percent from last year’s P1.71 billion, is equivalent to 65 percent of last year’s recurring income. Including this year’s payment, the Company has returned a total of P15.3 billion in cash to shareholders through dividends since the IPO in 2012. The company also paid a 100% stock dividend in September 2015. D&L said its management remains highly committed to its dividend policy of a 50 percent payout ratio based on prior year’s net income. It has also been able to declare special dividends for three years in a row now since it was paused in 2020 due to the uncertainties brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the completion of the Batangas plant by the middle of the year, the company’s capex is expected to start decreasing immediately which, in turn, will most likely result in positive free cash flow (FCF) for the company starting this year. In fact, in the first quarter of 2023, the company’s FCF turned positive for the first time in two years, at P890 million. As there are no other major capex planned aside from the expansion plan in Batangas, the improvement in cash flows gives the company the financial flexibility to further reduce debt levels over time and continue paying dividends.