Ireland-headquartered energy to distribution group DCC said today its group operating profit for the first quarter of 2023 was in line with expectations and modestly ahead of the same time last year.
DCC described the first quarter of the year as "seasonally less significant".
In a trading update ahead of its AGM today, DCC said that despite the uncertain economic environment, it continues to expect that the year ending 31 March 2024 will be another year of operating profit growth and continued development activity.
DCC, which sells LPG, operates service stations and electric vehicle fast-charging networks and distributes medical and electronic products
The company also said today that its chief executive Donal Murphy made a full return to work during the first half of June after he took some time off in May to address a medical condition.
Breaking down its divisions, DCC said today that its Energy unit recorded strong growth, on the back of its Energy Solutions business performance.
But due to the continuing difficult market conditions, as expected, operating profit was behind last year in both the DCC Technology and DCC Healthcare divisions.
DCC Healthcare's operating profit decline was driven by customer de-stocking in DCC Health & Beauty Solutions, while DCC Vital recorded good growth.
"The group remains active from an acquisition perspective, with a good pipeline of development opportunities," it added.
