Donal Murphy, chief executive of DCC
Irish sales and marketing giant DCC has reported that group operating profit in the first three months of its financial year was “modestly ahead” of the same time last year.
In a trading update published ahead of the company’s AGM today, DCC said that the group’s energy division recorded good growth in the period following the completion of a number of acquisitions.
The group also pointed to a slight rise in operating profit in DCC Healthcare, while operating profit at DCC Technology was down in the first quarter compared to the corresponding period in 2023.
DCC reported that it had committed around £65m to new acquisitions since May this year, It completed the deal to acquire German company Wirsol Roof Solutions this month,
Wirsol employs 120 people and provides solar photovoltaic and battery storage solutions.
DCC also completed the acquisitions of four other businesses in the first quarter of its financial year.
The group has agreed to acquire Cubo, a fleet telematics business operating in the UK and Ireland.
The energy division of the group has also completed the sale of a majority stake in its liquid gas business in Hong Kong and Macau to Asian industrial group Citadel Pacific.
The value of the deal was $105m and DCC will retain a majority stake in the business.
The group, which is headquartered in Dublin, currently operates in 22 countries across the energy, healthcare and technology sectors.
DCC also employs over 16,600 people across these markets.
It reported an adjusted operating profit of £682.8m for the year ended March 31. This was up 4.1pc from its previous financial year.
The group said strong organic growth in DCC Energy was offset by more challenging trading in its healthcare and technology divisions, while acquisitions completed in the current and previous financial year also contributed to growth.
Revenue declined by 10.6pc to £19.9bn across the year.
This fall was attributed to the reduced wholesale cost of energy, with sales in the group’s energy division declining 11.8pc to £14.2bn.
DCC supplies liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in Ireland under the FloGas brand and also owns the fuel supplier Certa.
