5th Jul 2005 07:00
DCC PLC05 July 2005 AGM Statement 5 July 2005 At the Annual General Meeting of DCC plc, the value added sales, marketing andbusiness support services group, to be held in Dublin at 11.00 a.m. today, JimFlavin, Chief Executive/Deputy Chairman, will make the following statement: "DCC's results in the first quarter of its financial year to 31 March 2006 havebeen in line with expectations. The Group's business is significantly secondhalf 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 sharegrowth for the full year should be ahead of market expectations and intodouble-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 toin DCC's preliminary results announcement on 16 May 2005, will hold back therate of Group profit growth in the first half of the year. However, profitgrowth in IT Distribution is expected to resume in the second half. Goingforward, 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 theplanned Pilton acquisition, has recently completed two smaller acquisitions, one in Healthcare and one in Energy. In Healthcare, DCC expanded its acute andcommunity care business through the acquisition of 76% of Physio-Med ServicesLimited, a market-leading supplier of physiotherapy and related products tohospitals, private practitioners and consumers in Britain, at a cost of €8.5million. Physio-Med is based in Glossop, Derbyshire and employs 70 people. Theremaining 24% of the share capital is subject to put and call options over thenext four years. In Energy, DCC acquired the trade, assets and goodwill of BrettFuels, 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 400Fergal O'Dwyer, Chief Financial Officer Email: [email protected] Conlon, Investor Relations Manager Web: www.dcc.ie For Editors: DCC is a sales, marketing and business support services group focused on theenergy, IT, healthcare, food & beverage and environmental markets, operatingprincipally in Britain and Ireland. In its latest financial year to 31 March2005, 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 ExchangeRelated Shares:
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