DCC shares up on double-digit growth and £90m spending spree
Irish multinational DCC today announced another £90m in new acquisitions as it revealed that strong growth in its natural gas segment helped push up profits.
The FTSE 100 company sold 10.8 per cent more liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to 2.1m tonnes in the financial year ending March, helping to push revenue up by 30.5 per cent in the segment.
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However, excluding acquisitions in Germany, the US, Hong Kong and Macau, volumes dropped 2.8 per cent in the year as hot weather in Europe drove down sales.
DCC also announced its first material bolt-on acquisition for its LPG business in the US, buying Pacific Coast Energy for around £30m which it hopes will be a foothold for further expansion in the country.
“It has been another active year from a development perspective and we have committed approximately £370m to acquisitions during the period. Each of the new acquisitions announced today are good examples of our divisional strategies in action,” said chief executive Donal Murphy.
The company’s acquisition-heavy strategy helped propel all four of its business areas to double-digit growth, including 35 per cent in its technology segment.
It announced two new Europe-focused technology acquisitions today, in Germany and the Netherlands.
“I am particularly pleased that each division recorded very strong growth in operating profit and traded in line with expectations, given the mild weather conditions experienced during the year,” Murphy said.
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He added: “DCC has a very strong and liquid balance sheet, leaving the Group well placed to continue its targeted acquisition strategy.”
Shares in London were up around 2.65 per cent to 6,658p this afternoon.