Support services group DCC has today forecast "very significant" profit growth this financial year, after posting a bigger than expected 7% rise in annual earnings and announcing its largest ever acquisition.
The Dublin-based company, whose activities range from oil distribution to waste management, said its pre-tax profits rose by 8.1% to £163.3m.
Operating profits for the year to the end of March rose by 10.5% to £221.7m from £200.7m.
It reported revenue of £10.606 billion for the year, down 4% on the same time last year, as lower oil prices hit its Energy division.
The company also said today that its DCC Energy division has made an offer to buy Butagaz, a liquefied petroleum gas business in France, from Shell for €464m - its largest ever acquisition.
The French LPG market is the second largest in western Europe and is about twice the size of the market in Britain.
DCC said the deal would provide DCC Energy with a substantial presence in the French LPG market, an experienced management team and a high quality sales, marketing and operating infrastructure.
DCC said it has proposed a 10% increase in its final dividend to give a total full year dividend of 84.54 pence per share. This marked its 21st year in a row of dividend growth.
Tommy Breen, the company's chief executive, said that the year to March had been an "outstanding year" for the company with operating profit growth in each of its four divisions.
The company saw a record level of acquisition activity, which resulted in expenditure now committed of €554m, as well as the profitable disposal of its Food and Beverage division.
Looking ahead, Mr Breen said that at this very early stage, the group anticipates that both operating profit and adjusted earnings per share from continuing activities will be very significantly ahead of the prior year.
Revenues at DCC's Energy division fell by 7.5% to £7.624 billion from £8.243 billion while operating profits rose by 8.1% to £119.4m from £110.5m.
The company said its trading performance benefited from acquisitions and a continuing focus on operational efficiency, which was partly offset by the effect of mild winter weather conditions which hit all geographies in which it operates. It sold 10.8 billion litres of product during the year, up 5.7% over the previous year.
Revenues at DCC Technology rose by 3.8% to £2.350 billion from £2.264 billion and operating profits grew by 2.6% to £49.4m from £48.1m.
It reported good growth in its Continental European and Supply Chain Services businesses and good growth in its UK and Ireland reseller customer channel.
Operating profits at DCC Healthcare jumped by 30.6% to £39.7m from £30.4m while revenues rose by 20% to £488.1m from £406.5m. The company said the division remains well placed to continue the strong record of growth and development.
DCC said that revenues at its Environmental division rose by 9.9% to £143.6m from £130.6m while operating profits increased by 13.2% to £13.3m from £11.7m. It noted that the Irish business successfully expanded its range of services, especially to the waste water treatment sector.
DCC shares closed almost 13% higher on London's FTSE 250 midcap index at £49.54.
