The increase i DCC’s (DCC) net debt from a year ago reflects the continued up-scaling of the FTSE 100 constituent, as does a 20 per cent increase in liquefied petroleum gas volumes – a consequence of the acquisitions of Gaz Européen and Shell Hong Kong & Macau, the second of which completed in January. Even with those deals, net debt accounts for a manageable 1.1 times cash profits, leaving the Irish conglomerate with “plenty of gas in the tank”, according to chief executive Donal Murphy.
Indeed, a record £670m was deployed on acquisitions in FY2018, with the purchases of Retail West and Elite One Source, together with an initial foray into the potentially lucrative US LPG market. You would imagine that all this activity would constrain free cash flow and the group’s return on capital employed, but at £328m and 17.5 per cent, respectively, the figures, although down year on year, underline the group’s capital discipline.
Prior to these figures, JPMorgan Cazenove was guiding for adjusted pre-tax profit of £409m for the March 2019 year-end, leading to EPS of 368p, against £376m and 311p in 2018.
| DCC (DCC) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 7,150p | MARKET VALUE: | £6.38bn | |
| TOUCH: | 7,140-7,150p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 7,760p | LOW: 6,445p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.7% | PE RATIO: | 28 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 1,842p* | NET DEBT: | 32% | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2014 | 11.0 | 151 | 144 | 76.9 |
| 2015 | 10.6 | 163 | 153 | 84.5 |
| 2016 | 10.4 | 203 | 190 | 97.2 |
| 2017 | 12.3 | 248 | 227 | 112 |
| 2018 | 14.3 | 260 | 259 | 123 |
| % change | +16 | +5 | +15 | +10 |
| Ex-div: | 24 May | |||
| Payment: | 19 Jul | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £1.94bn, or 2,171p a share | ||||
