DCC full year profits soar 23%

Full year pre-tax profits at business support group DCC rose 23.7% to £268.2m on the back of a 17% rise in revenue to £12.2bn.

Operating profit rose to £345m from £285.3m in the previous year. DCC's energy division reported a 24% jump in operating profits to £255m.

The final dividend increased 16.3% to 74.63p a share for a total dividend for the year of 111.80p a share.

Chief executive Tommy Breen said the results reflected the continued execution of DCC's strategy in “significantly growing operating profits, converting those profits into cash and re-deploying capital into our Energy, Healthcare and Technology businesses”.

“We expect that the coming year will be another year of profit growth and development for DCC," he said.