Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 2270X

DCC PLC

06 February 2013

 



6 February 2013

DCC plc

Interim Management Statement

DCC plc, the sales, marketing, distribution and business support services group, is issuing this Interim Management Statement in accordance with the reporting requirements of the Transparency Regulations 2007.

Third Quarter ended 31 December 2012

Group revenue and operating profit in the third quarter ended 31 December 2012 were well ahead of the prior year, driven primarily by the performance of DCC Energy which benefited from colder weather conditions compared to the exceptionally mild weather in Northern Europe in the previous year.

Operating profit in DCC Energy, the Group's largest division, was significantly ahead of the prior year and in line with budget. The division generated volume growth of 19% compared to the prior year, principally driven by acquisitions but also benefiting from growth in heating related volumes compared to the prior year. 

Operating profit in DCC SerCom, the Group's second largest division, was in line with budget in what is a seasonally important quarter for the division. The business in Britain benefited from strong growth in mobile communications and tablet products although this was offset by continued weakness in the home entertainment market and a challenging trading environment in Continental Europe.

DCC Healthcare and DCC Food & Beverage traded modestly ahead of the prior year while trading in DCC Environmental was modestly behind the prior year.

Year to 31 March 2013

The fourth quarter to 31 March 2013 is an important trading period for the Group and in particular for DCC Energy. In January 2013, weather conditions in Britain (DCC Energy's largest market) were in line with the 30 year average although significantly colder than in the very mild January last year.

The Group now anticipates that its operating profit and adjusted earnings per share on continuing activities, both on a constant currency basis, will be approximately 17.5% and 20% respectively ahead of the prior year. Assuming an average exchange rate of Stg£0.815 = €1 (compared to Stg£0.805 = €1 at the time of the previous guidance on 6 November 2012), this would equate to reported operating profit of approximately €222 million and reported adjusted earnings per share of approximately 200 cent. This guidance is predicated on normal winter weather conditions for the remainder of the financial year ending 31 March 2013.

Development Activity

During the quarter ended 31 December 2012 the Group committed €72 million in acquisition expenditure when, as announced on 20 December 2012, it reached conditional agreement to acquire Kent Pharmaceuticals (Holdings) Limited ("Kent Pharma"), a leading British generic pharmaceuticals company. DCC has now received clearance from the Irish Competition Authority and it is anticipated that this acquisition will complete later this month.

The acquisition of Kent Pharma brings a highly complementary product portfolio, product licence ownership and strong relationships in the British retail pharmacy channel. DCC Healthcare will combine Kent Pharma with its existing pharma activities to create a substantial pharma business with aggregate revenues approaching €150 million and a leading position in the British generics market. In the near term, the enlarged pharma product portfolio and increased sales and marketing capability will generate growth opportunities for DCC Healthcare in Britain. Over time the enhanced pharma regulatory and business development capability will also create opportunities for sales development in other geographic markets, in particular within the EU and in the Middle East and North Africa region. Furthermore, the combined business will provide a strong platform for further product in-licensing and bolt-on acquisition opportunities.

Together with committed acquisition expenditure of €133 million in the Group's first half ended 30 September 2012, total committed acquisition expenditure for the nine months ended 31 December was in excess of €200 million.

The acquisition by DCC Energy of BP's LPG distribution business in Britain was completed in the first half of the year but was the subject of certain "hold separate" undertakings agreed with the UK Office of Fair Trading ("OFT") pending its review of the transaction. The OFT cleared this acquisition on 11 January 2013, thus allowing the undertakings to fall away. DCC Energy is now planning the integration of this business with Flogas, DCC Energy's existing LPG distribution business in Britain.

During the quarter ended 31 December 2012, the acquisitions by DCC Energy of LPG distribution businesses in Benelux, Sweden and Norway were completed following clearance by local competition authorities.

The Group remains well placed to continue the development of its business in existing and new geographies.

Review of Listing Arrangements

The Board is currently undertaking a review of the listing arrangements for DCC's shares.

Since its original stock exchange listing in Dublin and London in 1994, DCC has achieved significant growth in scale and in geographic footprint. For some time, the majority of the Group's revenue and operating profit has been generated in the UK with most of the Group's development activity and expenditure since 1994 taking place outside Ireland. In addition, the profile of DCC's shareholder base has also changed significantly, with approximately 77% of DCC's shares now held by institutional investors outside Ireland.

Specifically, the Board is considering whether DCC should seek admission to the FTSE UK Index Series (which would involve the cancellation of DCC's listing on the Irish Stock Exchange) in order to increase the awareness of DCC among the international investor community. In addition, as part of this process, the Board is considering whether it would be appropriate to change DCC's reporting currency from Euro to Sterling. It is expected that this review will be completed within the next few weeks and a further announcement will be made as appropriate.

None of the changes being contemplated would have any impact on the domicile or operations of DCC. The Company will remain incorporated, headquartered and tax resident in Ireland.

Preliminary Results

DCC expects to announce its preliminary results for the year to 31 March 2013 on Tuesday 14 May 2013.

For reference:                                                                                               

Tommy Breen, Chief Executive                        

Fergal O'Dwyer, Chief Financial Officer

Stephen Casey, Investor Relations Manager                  Ivan Murphy, Davy

Telephone: [phone]                                        Telephone: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]                                     Email: [e-mail]

Web: www.dcc.ie                                                        

Forward-looking statements

This announcement contains some forward-looking statements that represent DCC's expectations for its business, based on current expectations about future events, which by their nature involve risks and uncertainties. DCC believes that its expectations and assumptions with respect to these forward-looking statements are reasonable. However, because they involve risk and uncertainty, which are in some cases beyond DCC's control, actual results or performance may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information.

About DCC plc

DCC plc is a sales, marketing, distribution and business support services group headquartered in Dublin with operations in Britain, Continental Europe and Ireland. DCC has five divisions - DCC Energy, DCC SerCom (IT, communications and home entertainment products), DCC Healthcare, DCC Environmental and DCC Food & Beverage. In its last financial year ended 31 March 2012, DCC generated revenue of €10.7 billion and operating profit of €185 million. The Group currently employs approximately 9,500 people. DCC's three largest divisions (DCC Energy, DCC SerCom and DCC Healthcare) contributed 87% of DCC's operating profit in the year ended 31 March 2012.

DCC's strategy is to build a growing, sustainable and cash generative business which consistently provides returns on total capital employed significantly ahead of its cost of capital. It concentrates on those activities where it has established, or has the opportunity to establish, leadership positions (i.e. typically number 1 or 2) in its chosen markets. DCC has a very strong track record of profit growth and has grown its dividend every year since it listed its shares in 1994 (with an 18 year compound annual dividend growth rate of 14.9%). DCC's strong balance sheet and cashflow generation enable it to grow its business and expand its geographic footprint both organically and through acquisition.

DCC Energy is the leading oil and LPG sales, marketing and distribution business in Britain and Ireland and also has leadership positions in Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. On a pro forma basis, DCC sells approximately 11 billion litres of fuel per annum to approximately one million commercial and domestic customers.

DCC SerCom is one of the leading IT, communications and home entertainment products distributors in Europe with annual sales in excess of €2 billion and market leading positions in Britain, Ireland and France. DCC partners with leading global vendors such as Acer, Lenovo, Microsoft, Nokia and Samsung, providing a full service route to market and selling to a broad range of customers including retailers, e-tailers and computer resellers.

DCC Healthcare is active in the sales, marketing and distribution of pharmaceutical and medical products to hospitals and pharmacies in Britain and Ireland and, following completion of the Kent Pharma acquisition, will be a leading player in the generic pharmaceutical market in Britain. DCC Healthcare is also active in the provision of outsourced product development, manufacturing and other services to international health & beauty brand owners.

DCC Environmental is a leading provider of recycling, waste management and resource recovery services to the industrial, commercial, construction and public sectors in Britain and Ireland. DCC Food & Beverage is principally focused on the distribution of food and beverage products in Ireland.

For more information go to www.dcc.ie.

 

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