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DCC PLC on Tuesday announced plans to return £800 million to shareholders as it pushes ahead with plans to focus on its Energy business. The news came as the Dublin-based sales, marketing, and support services provider said pretax profit fell 18% to £294.9 million in the year to March 31 from £359.2 million a year prior. Diluted earnings per share declined 37% to 208.44 pence from 329.85p. Revenue fell 4.4% to £18.01 billion from £18.85 billion due to lower revenue in DCC Energy where average commodity prices were lower. Revenue in DCC Energy fell 6.0% to £13.4 billion while sales in DCC Technology increased 0.3% to £4.6 billion, mainly driven by revenue growth in Pro Tech. Adjusted operating profit from continuing operations increased 3.0% to £703.6 million from £682.8 million a year prior, below £713 million consensus, cited by RBC Capital Markets. Last November, DCC announced the sale of DCC Healthcare for an enterprise value of £1.05 billion. On Monday, DCC said it plans to return £800 million of proceeds to shareholders. This will comprise a £100 million share buyback, which will begin shortly, a £600 million return on completion of the deal, and a further £100 million following receipt of deferred consideration in around two years. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025. Chief Executive Donal Murphy said: ‘Our sale of DCC Healthcare enables a material return of capital to shareholders. We will focus our efforts on Energy, our largest and highest-returning business. We are energised about the future.’ Free cash flow declined to £588.8 million from £681.1 million and return on capital employed fell to 15.3% from 15.5%. The dividend was increased by 5.0% to 206.40p from 196.57p. Looking ahead, DCC said it expects the year to March 31 2026 will be a year of ‘good operating profit growth on a continuing basis, strategic progress and continued development activity.’ Shares in DCC were down 3.2% at 4,909.24 pence on Tuesday morning in London. The wider FTSE 100 index was up 0.1%. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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