10th Nov 2020 08:45
(Alliance News) - DCC PLC on Tuesday posted a significant surge in profits for the first half of financial 2020 as it declared an increase to its dividend payout.
Shares in the FTSE 100 Irish support services firm were trading 2.1% higher at 5,734.00 pence each on Tuesday morning in London.
For the six months ended September 30, DCC posted pretax profit of GBP102.1 million, up 77% from GBP57.6 million the year prior. This was despite revenue falling 19% year-on-year to GBP5.93 billion from GBP7.31 billion.
By division, liquefied petroleum gas business DCC LPG sold 726,300 tonnes of product in the first half, down 9.0% on the year prior from 798,500 tonnes.
DCC Retail & Oil sold 4.9 billion litres of product, down 18% year-on-year from 5.93 billion litres.
DCC Technology contributed revenue of GBP1.97 billion, up 9.7% from GBP1.80 billion a year prior.
In the Healthcare division, revenue on a continuing basis rose 25% to GBP322.90 million from GBP258.7 million a year before.
An interim dividend of 51.95p was declared, up 5.0% from 49.48p paid the year prior.
Looking ahead, Chief Executive Donal Murphy said: "With Covid-19 related restrictions now increasing again generally, the outlook for all economies in which DCC operates remains very uncertain. However, DCC's diverse and resilient business model, the essential nature of the group's products and services and its extremely strong balance sheet ensure that the group is well placed to navigate this ongoing uncertainty and continue its growth and development into the future."
As at September 30, DCC had cash of GBP1.57 billion, down from GBP1.68 billion a year before.
By Ife Taiwo; [email protected]
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