D&L Industries Inc., the Philippines’ largest producer of specialty plastics and oleochemicals, warned that the conflict in Iran will disrupt global supply chains for months, clouding the outlook for the company that just reported a double-digit rise in annual profit.


In a virtual briefing on Wednesday, March 25, Alvin D. Lao, D&L Industries president and chief executive officer, said the damage to industrial facilities and petrochemical assets in the Middle East is significant enough that recovery will be slow even if hostilities cease immediately.

Lao noted that the impact is already rippling through the prices of oil, fertilizers, and chemical-based raw materials.

“There’s going to be some pain for the next couple of months for everyone,” Lao said, adding that roughly 20 percent of global supply for certain materials has vanished.

While D&L has not yet encountered a total shortage, Lao said the cost of access has spiked. He cautioned that within a month, certain items could become scarce or run out entirely.

The manufacturer is currently negotiating with its global supplier network to maintain the flow of raw materials. Many providers have already declared force majeure, a legal move that cancels existing contracts and limits deliveries to a week-to-week basis.

Despite the volatility, Lao expressed confidence in the company’s ability to navigate the crisis, citing D&L’s experience during the oil shocks of 1973 and 1979.

D&L currently maintains 74 days’ worth of inventory to keep its domestic manufacturing plants operational. However, the uncertainty has forced the company to abandon its internal financial targets. Assumptions for the Philippine peso-US dollar exchange rate, interest rates, and gross domestic product growth are no longer applicable, Lao said.

He noted that the company is now managing operations on a day-to-day basis while monitoring geopolitical signals from the Middle East and US President Donald Trump.

The supply chain warnings come as D&L reported a 10.6 percent increase in recurring net income to ₱2.6 billion for 2025 from ₱2.3 billion the previous year. The growth was spearheaded by the company’s biodiesel, plastics, and consumer businesses. In the fourth quarter alone, recurring income jumped 20 percent to ₱640 million.

The annual performance was particularly resilient given that the price of coconut oil—a critical raw material—reached an all-time high in 2025, nearly tripling from lows seen two years prior.

Overall volumes grew 8 percent year-on-year, driven by both high-margin specialty products and commodity segments.

Performance across D&L’s divisions was mixed. The Specialty Plastics unit saw earnings grow 9 percent, hitting record margin levels due to new product developments. The Consumer Products ODM segment posted an 80 percent surge in profit as operations at its Batangas facility ramped up, with exports now accounting for 16 percent of total sales.

The Chemrez Technologies division reported a 96 percent increase in net income, fueled by a 24 percent rise in volumes. This growth was supported by international demand for coconut oil-derived products and the implementation of higher mandated biodiesel blends in the Philippines.

Conversely, the Food Ingredients segment saw earnings plunge 61 percent. While D&L typically passes higher input costs to its customers, the rapid spike in coconut oil prices created a temporary margin squeeze due to a 30-to-45-day lag in price adjustments.