AGM Statement
DCC PLC
05 July 2005
AGM Statement
5 July 2005
At the Annual General Meeting of DCC plc, the value added sales, marketing and
business support services group, to be held in Dublin at 11.00 a.m. today, Jim
Flavin, Chief Executive/Deputy Chairman, will make the following statement:
'DCC's results in the first quarter of its financial year to 31 March 2006 have
been in line with expectations. The Group's business is significantly second
half weighted and in the current financial year DCC has budgeted for
approximately 70% of Group operating profit to be earned in the second half.
Based on current trading and outlook, we expect that adjusted earnings per share
growth for the full year should be ahead of market expectations and into
double-digits.
We expect to achieve strong growth over the year in the Energy, Healthcare,
Food & Beverage and Environmental divisions and also in Other activities.
The difficult trading conditions for the IT Distribution division, referred to
in DCC's preliminary results announcement on 16 May 2005, will hold back the
rate of Group profit growth in the first half of the year. However, profit
growth in IT Distribution is expected to resume in the second half. Going
forward, the agreement to acquire Pilton, announced on 15 June 2005, is expected
to materially benefit the division as it will lead to a greater weighting of
profits being earned from the growing market for entertainment and consumer
digital products.
DCC continues to be active on the acquisition front and, in addition to the
planned Pilton acquisition, has recently completed two smaller acquisitions,
one in Healthcare and one in Energy. In Healthcare, DCC expanded its acute and
community care business through the acquisition of 76% of Physio-Med Services
Limited, a market-leading supplier of physiotherapy and related products to
hospitals, private practitioners and consumers in Britain, at a cost of €8.5
million. Physio-Med is based in Glossop, Derbyshire and employs 70 people. The
remaining 24% of the share capital is subject to put and call options over the
next four years. In Energy, DCC acquired the trade, assets and goodwill of Brett
Fuels, based in the northeast of England, at a cost of €3.3 million. Brett,
which distributes approximately 45 million litres of oil products per annum,
has been integrated into DCC's oil distribution business in the UK'.
For reference, please contact:
Jim Flavin, Chief Executive/Deputy Chairman Tel: +353 1 2799 400
Fergal O'Dwyer, Chief Financial Officer Email: investorrelations@dcc.ie
Kieran Conlon, Investor Relations Manager Web: www.dcc.ie
For Editors:
DCC is a sales, marketing and business support services group focused on the
energy, IT, healthcare, food & beverage and environmental markets, operating
principally in Britain and Ireland. In its latest financial year to 31 March
2005, DCC had sales of €2.7 billion and operating profits of €131.5 million.
DCC's shares are traded on the Irish and London Stock Exchanges.
For further information please visit www.dcc.ie.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange