DCC FY profits rise 26% on strong division perfromance

International marketing and support services group DCC said full year pre-tax profits rose 26.6% to £316.4m as revenues increased 16.3% to £14.2bn.

The company spent £670m on acquisitions during the year which DCC said would provide further opportunities for both organic and acquisitive growth for the group

The final dividend has been lifted 10.0% to 82.09p a share for a total of 122.98p a share.

DCC, which is spread across LPG, retail and oil, healthcare and technology divisions, said group adjusted operating profit on continuing operations rose 11.1% to £383.4 million. Revenue on its continuing operations, excluding LPG and the retail and oil units, increased 12.6% to £3.6bn.

“The acquisition activity during the year again demonstrates DCC’s ability to acquire and integrate businesses in our existing markets to strengthen our market positions, build scale and increase our relevance and service offerings to customers and suppliers,” said chief executive Donal Murphy.

“Importantly, it also reflects our strategy to extend our geographic footprint over time, as evidenced by DCC LPG’s first acquisitions in the US and Asia and DCC Healthcare’s first acquisition in the US. These acquisitions in new markets will provide further opportunities for both organic and acquisitive growth for the group.”

"We expect that the year to 31 March 2019 will be another year of profit growth and development for the group."