Support services group DCC has reported a 23% rise in half yearly pre-tax profit, while its revenues dipped by 6.6% due to lower oil prices.
DCC said it expects its operating profit and adjusted earnings per share for the full year will be very significantly ahead of the previous 12 month period.
The Dublin-based company, whose activities range from oil distribution to waste management, said its pre-tax profit, from continuing operations, rose by 23.1% to £52.5m for the six months to the end of September.
Revenues for the six month period fell by 6.6% to £5.066 billion.
The company said its interim dividend increased by 15% to 33.04 pence per share.
DCC's CEO Tommy Breen said the company's strong group performance was achieved through "excellent" performances from the Energy, Healthcare and Environmental divisions, notwithstanding a more difficult background for the Technology division.
DCC said today it had completed its takeover of French gas company Butagaz as well as the French retail operations of Esso. It also announced a number of further acquisitions for its healthcare and technology businesses - Design Plus and CUC.
Operating profits at DCC Energy, the group's biggest division, rose by 65.6% to £52.9m compared to £31.9m the same time last year. DCC Energy sold 5.8 billion litres of product, up 11% on the same time in 2014.
DCC Energy has expanded its business since the start of the financial year and it now operates across ten countries in Europe. It said it remains well positioned to grow in these markets and to continue to expand into new areas.
Half yearly revenues at DCC Technology rose by 4.9% to £1.089 billion, while operating profits slumped 43.6% to £8.6m from £15.2m due to a weak performance in its UK business. DCC said the UK business continued to be impacted by a fall in sales of mobile computing and communications products of one big supplier.
However, the business in Ireland recorded strong growth and benefited from improved demand across a number of product segments, which it said partly reflected the ongoing recovery in the economy here.
Operating profits at its DCC Healthcare division rose by 16.1% to £18.4m from £15.9m while half yearly revenues inched 0.9% higher to £239.1m. The company noted that about half of the overall profit growth was from acquisitions completed in the current and previous year.
Revenues at DCC Environmental rose by 6.5% to £78.3m while operating profits grew by 20% to £8.5m from £7.1m, with the improved performance driven by business development initiatives, the improving economic environment in Ireland and continued growth in the UK construction sector.
Shares in the company were up sharply in London trade today.
