16 May 2017

DCC Reports a Year of Strong Growth and Development

DCC, the leading international sales, marketing and business support services group, today announced its results for the year ended 31 March 2017.

·   All divisions of DCC recorded strong profit growth, with Group operating profit on a continuing basis  increasing by 20.9% (12.8% on a constant currency basis) to £345.0 million.

·    Adjusted earnings per share on a continuing basis up 18.1% (10.3% on a constant currency basis) to 286.6 pence.

·    Proposed 16.3% increase in the final dividend, which, together with the interim dividend increase of 12.5%, will see the total dividend for the year increase by 15.0%, the 23^rd consecutive year of dividend growth since DCC listed in 1994.

·   Excellent cash flow performance, with free cash flow conversion of 114% and a return on total capital  employed of 20.3%.

·    Very active period of corporate development, with over £550 million committed to acquisitions, including the agreed acquisition of Esso's retail network in Norway, the agreed acquisition of Shell's LPG business in Hong Kong & Macau, DCC's first material step beyond Europe, and further acquisition activity across DCC Energy, DCC Healthcare and DCC Technology.

·     The agreed disposal of DCC's environmental division for an enterprise value of £219 million brings increased  strategic focus to the Group.

·   The Group expects that the year ending 31 March 2018 will be another year of profit growth and  development.

¹ Excluding DCC Environmental, the agreed disposal of which was announced on 5 April 2017

² Excluding net exceptionals and amortisation of intangible assets

³ After net capital expenditure and before net exceptionals, interest and tax payments

Commenting on the results, Tommy Breen, Chief Executive, said:

"I am very pleased to report that the year ended 31 March 2017 has been a strong year of growth and development for DCC. The results reflect the continued successful execution of our strategy in significantly growing our operating profits, converting those profits into cash and re-deploying capital into our Energy, Healthcare and Technology businesses.  

The Group continues to have the ambition, capacity and opportunity for further development. We expect that the coming year will be another year of profit growth and development for DCC."

Presentation of results and dial-in / webcast facility

There will be a presentation of these results to analysts and fund managers at 9.00 am today in the London Stock Exchange.  The slides for this presentation can be downloaded from DCC's website, www.dcc.ie.

There will also be audio conference access to, and a live webcast of, the presentation.  The access details for the presentation are:

Ireland:                                1800 992 778

UK / International:          +44 (0)203 427 1905

Passcode:                            4979141

Webcast Link:                    https://edge.media-server.com/m6/p/q6eq9non

This report, a webcast of the presentation and further information on DCC is available at www.dcc.ie.

For reference, please contact:

Group Results

A summary of the Group's results for the year ended 31 March 2017 is as follows:

Revenue - continuing operations

Revenue from continuing operations increased by 17.4% (11.5% on a constant currency basis) to £12.3 billion.

Overall volumes in DCC Energy increased by 12.5% to 14.6 billion litres, driven by the full year impact of the acquisition of the Esso Retail business in France and by the first time contribution of the acquisitions of Gaz Européen and Dansk Fuels. On a like-for-like basis, volumes were 1.0% ahead of the prior year. DCC Energy's revenue increased by 20.7% (14.0% on a constant currency basis).

Excluding DCC Energy, revenue from continuing operations was up 9.0% (5.0% on a constant currency basis), with revenue in DCC Technology increasing by 10.1% (5.8% on a constant currency basis) and revenue in DCC Healthcare increasing by 3.2% (1.3% on a constant currency basis).    

Operating profit - continuing operations

Operating profit from continuing operations increased by 20.9% to £345.0 million (12.8% on a constant currency basis); approximately one third of the constant currency operating profit growth was organic. The Group also benefited from the full year impact of the acquisitions completed during the prior year. The average sterling/euro translation rate for the year of 1.1956 was 12.7% weaker than the average of 1.3697 in the prior year.

Operating profit in DCC Energy, the Group's largest division, was 24.3% ahead of the prior year and 13.9% ahead of the prior year on a constant currency basis. DCC Energy benefited from the full year impact of the acquisitions of Butagaz and Esso Retail France in the prior year. Over one third of the constant currency profit growth was organic and was driven by a strong performance from the LPG business, despite the headwind of rising product prices.  

Operating profit in DCC Healthcare was 8.7% ahead of the prior year (8.0% on a constant currency basis); approximately two thirds of the constant currency growth was organic. The business benefited from a strong organic performance from DCC Health & Beauty Solutions, although DCC Vital was, as anticipated, impacted somewhat by the weakness of sterling, particularly in pharma products. Medisource, acquired by DCC Vital in January 2017, has traded in line with expectations.

Operating profit in DCC Technology increased by 17.1% (12.5% on a constant currency basis), benefiting from the contributions from acquisitions completed in the current and prior year. Approximately one third of the constant currency operating profit growth was organic and was driven by a good performance from the UK and Irish business. A weaker demand environment impacted trading in the French retail-focused business, although the Swedish and supply chain businesses experienced better trading conditions and achieved good organic growth.

An analysis of the divisional performance in each half of the year, for the Group's continuing operations, is set out below:

Operating profit - discontinued operations

The Group's discontinued operations represent the operations of DCC Environmental, the disposal of which was announced on 5 April 2017. The disposal is expected to complete during the first quarter of the Group's financial year ending 31 March 2018.

DCC Environmental achieved very strong organic profit growth, with operating profit increasing to £18.6 million, 22.2% ahead of the prior year.

Finance costs (net)

Net finance costs increased to £32.1 million (2016: £29.0 million) primarily due to the non-cash partial unwind of discounted acquisition related liabilities acquired in the Butagaz transaction. The underlying finance costs of the Group were broadly in line with the prior year as they are principally driven by the level of the Group's gross private placement debt, which remained largely unchanged. Average net debt during the year was £301 million compared to £185 million during the year ended 31 March 2016, with the increase reflecting the full year impact of the completion of the acquisitions of Butagaz and Esso Retail France during the prior year and the aggregate spend of £394 million on acquisitions and net capital expenditure in the current year.

Profit before net exceptional items, amortisation of intangible assets and tax

Profit before net exceptional items, amortisation of intangible assets and tax increased by 22.1% to £332.2 million (14.4% on a constant currency basis). 

Net exceptional charge and amortisation of intangible assets

The Group incurred a net exceptional charge after tax and non-controlling interests of £24.8 million as follows:

The Group has focused on the efficiency of its operating infrastructures and sales platforms, particularly in areas where it has been acquisitive in recent years. The Group incurred an exceptional charge of £19.3 million in relation to restructuring of existing and acquired businesses. The majority of the charge relates to restructuring and integration in the Energy division where the Group has been most acquisitive. The charge also includes integration costs related to acquisition activity and costs in respect of the pre-operating period of the new UK national distribution centre in the Technology division.

Acquisition costs, which include professional fees and tax costs (such as stamp duty) incurred in evaluating and completing acquisitions, amounted to £10.3 million and reflect the significant level of development activity undertaken by the Group during the year.

Most of the Group's debt has been raised in the US Private Placement market and swapped, using long term interest, currency and cross currency interest rate derivatives, to both fixed and floating rate sterling and euro. The level of ineffectiveness calculated under IAS 39 on the fair value and cash flow hedge relationships relating to fixed rate debt, together with gains or losses arising from marking to market swaps not designated as hedges, offset by foreign exchange translation gains or losses on the related fixed rate debt, is charged or credited as an exceptional item. In the year ended 31 March 2017, this amounted to an exceptional non-cash gain of £10.1 million. Following this credit, the cumulative net exceptional charge taken in respect of the Group's outstanding US Private Placement debt and related hedging instruments is £5.6 million. This, or any subsequent similar non-cash charges or gains, will net to zero over the remaining term of this debt and the related hedging instruments.  

The net increase in the provision for contingent acquisition consideration is due to the stronger than anticipated trading performance of a small number of businesses acquired during the last three years, where earn-out arrangements are in place.

There was a net tax charge of £1.7 million and a non-controlling interest credit of £3.1 million in relation to the above net exceptional charge.

The charge for the amortisation of acquisition related intangible assets increased to £39.2 million from £31.6 million, principally reflecting acquisitions completed in the current and prior year.

Profit before tax

Profit before tax increased by 23.7% to £268.2 million.

Taxation

The effective tax rate for the Group increased to 17.5% from 16% in the prior year. The increase is primarily due to the larger proportion of the Group's profits now generated in Continental Europe.   

Adjusted earnings per share

Adjusted earnings per share on a continuing basis increased by 18.1% (10.3% on a constant currency basis) to 286.6 pence.

Total adjusted earnings per share also increased by 18.1% (10.8% on a constant currency basis) to 303.7 pence.

Dividend

The Board is recommending an increase of 16.3% in the final dividend to 74.63 pence per share, which, when added to the interim dividend of 37.17 pence per share, gives a total dividend for the year of 111.80 pence per share. This represents a 15% increase over the total prior year dividend of 97.22 pence per share.  The dividend is covered 2.6 times by adjusted earnings per share on a continuing basis (2.5 times in 2016).  It is proposed to pay the final dividend on 20 July 2017 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 26 May 2017. 

Over its 23 years as a listed company, DCC has an unbroken record of dividend growth at a compound annual rate of 14.7%.

Cash flow

The Group generated excellent operating and free cash flow during the year as set out below:

Operating cash flow in 2017 was £546.9 million compared to £411.7 million in the prior year.  Working capital reduced by £84.0 million, with the inflow driven by the increase in the oil price during the year and a seasonal reduction in working capital in a number of businesses acquired in the second half of the year. Overall working capital days were negative 3.3 days sales, compared to negative 3.9 days sales in the prior year, reflecting the acquisition during the year of businesses with positive working capital characteristics. DCC Technology selectively uses supply chain financing solutions to sell, on a non-recourse basis, a portion of its receivables relating to certain larger supply chain/sales and marketing activities. The level of supply chain financing at 31 March 2017 increased modestly on the prior year and supply chain financing had a positive impact on Group working capital days of 4.2 days (31 March 2016: 4.9 days).

Net capital expenditure amounted to £131.4 million for the year (2016: £120.6 million) and was net of disposal proceeds of £12.3 million. The increased level of gross capital expenditure reflects the increasing scale of the Group and also an increase in development capital expenditure in the Energy division's Retail business. The net capital expenditure exceeded the depreciation charge in the year by £39.4 million.

The Group's free cash flow amounted to £415.5 million, an excellent 114% conversion of operating profit into cash.

Return on capital employed

The creation of shareholder value through the delivery of consistent, long-term returns well in excess of its cost of capital is one of DCC's core strategic aims. The increase in the Group's operating profit and strong working capital management resulted in a Group return on capital employed from continuing operations of 20.3%.  The return on capital employed by division was as follows:

As previously reported, in the prior year the overall Group return and that of DCC Energy was flattered somewhat by the acquisitions of Butagaz and Esso Retail France which were completed during the prior year. The pro-forma return for DCC Energy and the Group for the prior year (i.e. including these acquisitions as if they had been in place for the full year ended 31 March 2016) would have been approximately 21% and 20% respectively.

Committed acquisitions, disposal and capital expenditure

Committed acquisition and capital expenditure in the current year amounted to £685.3 million as follows:

Acquisition activity

Committed acquisition expenditure amounted to £553.9 million and included:

DCC Energy

Shell LPG Hong Kong & Macau

On 5 April 2017, DCC announced that DCC Energy had reached agreement with Shell Gas (LPG) Holdings BV to acquire its liquefied petroleum gas ("LPG") business in Hong Kong and Macau ("Shell HK&M") based on an enterprise value of HK$1.165 billion (c. £120 million). The business is one of the leading LPG businesses in Hong Kong and is the market leader in Macau. The business is required to be separated from the broader Shell Hong Kong operations and the transaction requires certain regulatory consents and operating licence approvals. The acquisition is expected to complete before the end of DCC's financial year ending 31 March 2018.

Shell HK&M is one of the leading LPG sales and marketing businesses in Hong Kong and Macau, where it has been selling LPG for almost sixty years.  The business provides LPG in bulk, cylinder and autogas formats to domestic, commercial and industrial customers. In Hong Kong it is the market leader in supplying piped LPG to the very large apartment complexes common in the territory. Shell HK&M supplies the complexes through its infrastructure of bulk tanks and piping to service the energy needs of over 100,000 households. Shell HK&M is the number three player in the cylinder market and also supplies autogas to Shell's retail network. The business is the market leader in the smaller Macau market. Shell HK&M is headquartered in Kowloon and operates a terminal and filling plant on Tsing Yi Island.

In the year ended 31 December 2016, the business supplied approximately 74,000 tonnes of LPG and under DCC's ownership is expected to deliver an annual operating profit of c. HK$145 million (c. £15 million).  Following the completion of the acquisition, the business will continue to operate under the Shell brand in both Hong Kong and Macau, based on a long term brand licence agreement.

The acquisition is consistent with DCC Energy's ambition to build a substantial presence in the global LPG market. The acquisition represents a further strengthening of DCC's relationship with Shell and gives DCC a strong market position in Hong Kong and Macau.  It is also DCC's first material step in building its business beyond Europe and gives DCC a platform for development in the growing LPG market in Asia.

Esso Retail Norway

On 7 February 2017, DCC Energy announced the acquisition of Esso Retail Norway. The acquisition is another significant step for DCC in building its retail petrol station business in Europe. The national network sells c. 600 million litres of fuel annually and is the third largest in Norway with approximately 20%³ of retail volumes. It comprises 142 company-operated sites (127 retail service stations and 15 unmanned stations) and has contracts to supply 108 Esso-branded dealer owned stations. The total consideration will be NOK 2.43 billion (c. £235 million), plus the value of stock in tank at the date of acquisition, all payable in cash on completion. The acquired business, which is substantially asset backed, is expected to generate a return on invested capital employed of approximately 15% in the first full year of ownership.

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions and is expected to complete in the final calendar quarter of 2017.

³ Estimate based on Wood MacKenzie market data

Gaz Européen

In January 2017, DCC Energy acquired Gaz Européen Holdings SAS ("Gaz Européen"), a natural gas retail and marketing business which supplies business and public sector customers in France. DCC acquired 97% of the share capital of Gaz Européen on completion, based on an initial enterprise value of €110 million (£96 million). The remaining shares, which are held by members of Gaz Européen's management team, will be acquired based on Gaz Européen's results for the three years ending 31 March 2021, 2022 and 2023. 

Gaz Européen is a specialist retailer of natural gas and focuses on supplying energy management companies, apartment blocks (with collective heating systems), public authorities and the service sector in France. In its financial year ended 31 December 2015, the company supplied c. 5.1 TWh of natural gas (equivalent to approximately 390,000 tonnes of LPG) and currently supplies c. 10,000 sites. The company is headquartered in Paris and employs 31 staff; it has an experienced and ambitious management team with a track record of delivering strong growth. In its financial year ended 31 December 2015, Gaz Européen generated revenue of €205 million (£178 million) and normalised operating profit of €15.7 million (£13.7 million).

DCC Energy has, for some time, been developing its presence in natural gas organically in selected geographies as it believes that there is a significant opportunity to leverage its sales and marketing expertise, customer reach and brand recognition in the LPG and oil distribution markets into complementary adjacencies, including the natural gas sector. Gaz Européen is DCC Energy's first major acquisition in natural gas and complements Butagaz's leading position in LPG in France. One of the key strengths identified during the acquisition of Butagaz was its brand recognition amongst French gas consumers generally. The combination of Butagaz's marketing and brand strength and Gaz Européen's expertise in the natural gas market will provide an excellent platform for growth in the French natural gas market.

DCC Healthcare

Medisource

In January 2017, DCC Healthcare strengthened its position in the procurement, sales and marketing of pharmaceutical products in Ireland when it completed the acquisition of Medisource Ireland Limited ("Medisource") for an initial enterprise valuation of €31.5 million (£27.4 million).

Medisource is a specialist in the procurement and sale of exempt medicinal products ("EMPs"). EMPs are pharmaceutical products which are imported into a market with the authorisation of the relevant regulatory authority (the Health Products Regulatory Authority in Ireland) in order to meet requirements of specific patients where no suitable licenced product is available in that market. The products are typically licenced in another jurisdiction. Medisource has a market leadership position in EMPs in Ireland based on excellent customer service and a strong network of international suppliers. The acquisition complements DCC Vital's current pharma product offering in Ireland, strengthens DCC Vital's access to the hospital and retail pharmacy channel and will provide further insight into potential pharma product development opportunities. DCC Healthcare expects to generate a return on its investment in Medisource in line with the divisional return on capital employed in its first full year of ownership.

DCC Technology

Hammer

In December 2016, DCC Technology completed the acquisition of Hammer Consolidated Holdings Limited ("Hammer"), a specialist distributor of server and storage solutions to resellers in the UK and Continental Europe. Employing 165 people and based in Basingstoke, Hampshire, Hammer distributes products for a range of leading suppliers and also provides product design and build solutions tailored to the requirements of customers in specific industries. The business is complementary to DCC Technology's existing server and storage business and has added almost 1,000 new reseller customers. In its most recent financial year, Hammer recorded sales of £155.0 million and operating profit of £6.3 million. The acquisition was based on an initial enterprise value of £38.3 million and was structured as an initial payment at completion, followed by earn out payments over three years based on Hammer's future trading results.

Medium

In November 2016, DCC Technology acquired Medium (U.K.) Limited ("Medium"), a distributor of professional audio visual equipment to resellers in the UK. Medium, which partners with a number of leading brands in the market including CTouch, LG, NEC and Samsung, is complementary to DCC Technology's developing position in professional audio visual products in the UK market. The consideration for the acquisition was based on an enterprise valuation of £8.3 million.

DCC also acquired a number of other small businesses during the year in the Energy, Healthcare and Technology sectors.

Total cash spend on acquisitions for the year ended 31 March 2017

The total cash spend on acquisitions in the year was £262.4 million. This included the payment of deferred and contingent acquisition consideration previously provided of £59.1 million.

Disposal

DCC Environmental

On 5 April 2017, DCC announced that it had agreed to sell its Environmental division to Exponent for an enterprise value of £219 million, on a debt-free, cash-free basis. The Environmental division, which is active in the treatment and recycling of non-hazardous and hazardous waste in Britain and Ireland, comprises the British businesses, William Tracey Group, Oakwood Fuels and Wastecycle, and Enva in Ireland.

DCC expects to receive cash proceeds on completion of approximately £170 million (25% of the British businesses are owned by DCC's long-standing minority partner). The transaction is expected to complete in the first quarter of DCC's financial year ending 31 March 2018.  The transaction is expected to give rise to an exceptional profit in the year ending 31 March 2018 of approximately £30 million.

Capital expenditure

Net capital expenditure for the year of £131.4 million (2016: £120.6 million) compares to a depreciation charge of £92.0 million (2016: £74.8 million). The capital expenditure is net of £12.3 million of proceeds on disposal of fixed assets.  

DCC Technology has now successfully completed the construction and commissioning of a new, purpose built, 450,000 sq. ft. UK national distribution centre in the north of England, close to the majority of its existing facilities. The facility is now operational, with activity being transitioned from the existing warehousing infrastructure on a phased basis. The transition will be fully completed by the end of the year ending 31 March 2018.

Financial strength

An integral part of the Group's strategy is the maintenance of a strong and liquid balance sheet to enable it to take advantage of development opportunities as they arise. As a result of the operating cash flow in the year, DCC's financial position remains very strong. At 31 March 2017, the Group had net debt of £121.9 million, total equity of £1.5 billion, cash resources, net of overdrafts, of £973 million and a further £400 million of undrawn committed debt facilities. The Group's outstanding term debt at 31 March 2017 had an average maturity of 5.6 years. Substantially all of the Group's debt has been raised in the US Private Placement market with an average credit margin of 1.69% over floating Euribor/Libor.

At 31 March 2017, the Group's Net Debt: EBITDA was 0.3 times. As referred to above, the Group has committed to acquire Shell HK&M and Esso Retail Norway and also to dispose of its Environmental Division. The pro-forma net impact of these transactions would be to increase the Group's net debt at 31 March 2017 by approximately £185 million equating to a pro-forma Net Debt: EBITDA of 0.6 times. 

Management and organisational changes

As announced on 5 April 2017, Tommy Breen, Chief Executive, will retire from the Group after over 30 years of service. He will stand down from his position and from the Board following the conclusion of the Group's Annual General Meeting on 14 July 2017. He will be succeeded by Donal Murphy, Executive Director and Managing Director of DCC Energy. Donal joined DCC in 1998 and has led the growth and development of the Energy division as Managing Director since 2006. Prior to his current role he was Managing Director of the Technology division.

For the year ending 31 March 2018 DCC will report LPG and Retail & Oil as two separate divisions, consistent with the revised management and organisational structure of the Group. Henry Cubbon will continue to lead DCC's LPG business. Eddie O'Brien, previously Managing Director of DCC's Retail and Fuelcard activities, will assume responsibility for all Retail & Oil activities. The four divisional Managing Directors of LPG, Retail & Oil, Healthcare and Technology will report to the Chief Executive.

Outlook

The Group expects that the year ending 31 March 2018 will be another year of profit growth and development.

Annual Report and Annual General Meeting

DCC's 2017 Annual Report will be published in June 2017.  The Company's Annual General Meeting will be held at 11.00 am on Friday 14 July 2017 in The InterContinental Hotel, Simmonscourt Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, Ireland. 

Performance Review - Divisional Analysis

DCC Energy had an excellent year, with operating profit increasing to £254.9m, 24.3% ahead of the prior year (13.9% ahead on a constant currency basis) and generating a return on capital employed of 21.6%.  The business benefited from the full year contribution of acquisitions completed in the prior year and strong organic growth in the LPG business. In addition, it was another year of significant development activity for DCC Energy. 

DCC Energy sold 14.6 billion litres of product during the year, an increase of 12.5% over the prior year.  Volumes were 1.0% ahead of the prior year on a like-for-like basis, with the LPG business achieving strong organic volume growth with commercial and industrial customers. 

DCC will present LPG and Retail & Oil as two separate divisions from 1 April 2017, in line with the revised management and organisational structure of the business.

The LPG business had an excellent year achieving operating profit growth of 37.4%, 23.9% on a constant currency basis. Approximately half of the constant currency operating profit growth was organic. The very strong volume growth of 34.1% included the benefit of a full year's volumes from Butagaz, acquired in the prior year, and also from the acquisition of the Gaz Européen natural gas business in France, acquired in January 2017. The like-for-like volume growth was 6.1%. This strong organic volume performance was broadly based, with good growth in Britain, Ireland and France. The LPG business has continued to focus on growing its sales to industrial and commercial customers, with the commercial and environmental benefits of LPG continuing to attract new customers to the segment. 

The operating margin per litre was modestly ahead of the prior year and declined, as anticipated, on a constant currency basis due to the impact on mix of lower margin natural gas volumes becoming more material during the year and a significantly higher product price environment relative to the prior year. 

In recent years, the LPG business has organically developed its natural gas offering in Ireland and now has a substantial market share in the commercial sector of the market. In January 2017, DCC completed the acquisition of Gaz Européen, a specialist retailer of natural gas to business customers in France, principally co-ownership housing.  The business has performed in line with expectation since acquisition. It is intended to launch a start-up consumer offering in natural gas during the coming year, which will require investment in sales and marketing, but importantly, will leverage the natural gas operations and expertise of Gaz Europeén and the Butagaz brand, France's most-recognised gas brand.

On 5 April 2017, DCC announced that agreement had been reached with Shell Gas (LPG) Holdings BV to acquire its liquefied petroleum gas business in Hong Kong and Macau ("Shell HK&M"). The business is one of the leading LPG businesses in Hong Kong and is the market leader in Macau. In its most recent financial year to 31 December 2016, Shell HK&M distributed approximately 74,000 tonnes of LPG to its customers and under DCC's ownership is expected to achieve operating profit of HK$145 million (c. £15 million).  The acquisition gives DCC a strong market position in Hong Kong and Macau and provides a platform for development in the growing LPG market in Asia. 

Following the completion of the acquisition of Shell HK&M, the LPG business will have strong market leadership positions in eight countries and is well placed to continue its development in existing territories, build on its emerging position in natural gas and, over time, further develop its geographic footprint.

DCC Energy Retail & Oil had a good year, with operating profit growth of 6.9% (1.2% on a constant currency basis). The volume growth of 7.9% was driven by the inclusion for the full year of the Esso Retail business in France and the acquisition of Dansk Fuels in Denmark in November 2016. Organically, volumes and operating profits were in line with the prior year.

The Retail businesses achieved good growth during the year, benefiting from the full year contribution from the Esso Retail business in France and good performances from the Swedish and Fuelcard businesses. The Retail business continues to invest in building its network of sites and leveraging its strong sales offering in fuel cards in Britain.  The Oil business continued to experience difficult trading conditions in Britain and Ireland, however good progress was made in the development of the business in adjacent areas, such as aviation and lubricants.  The restructuring and integration of Dansk Fuels, Shell's Danish commercial, aviation and retail business acquired in November 2016, is progressing in line with expectations. 

On 7 February 2017, DCC announced that agreement had been reached with Esso Norges AS to acquire its retail petrol station network in Norway. The retail network is the third largest in Norway with approximately 20% of retail volumes and comprises a national network of 142 company-operated sites (127 retail service stations and 15 unmanned stations) and contracts to supply 108 Esso-branded dealer owned stations (together referred to as "Esso Retail Norway"). Esso Retail Norway sells c. 600 million litres of fuel annually. The majority of the stations are in the more populous south of the country and, of the 142 company-operated sites, 110 are held freehold, with 32 being leasehold. 

The agreement to acquire Esso Retail Norway will see DCC Energy's Retail & Oil business operate in eight countries in Europe, supplying commercial, industrial, domestic and retail customers. The business will operate a retail network of c. 1,000 sites and supply an additional 2,000 dealer-owned stations. 

DCC Healthcare performed strongly during the year, generating operating profit growth of 8.7% (8.0% on a constant currency basis) and approximately two thirds of the constant currency profit growth was organic. The business again improved its operating margin and continues to generate excellent returns on capital employed.

DCC Vital, which is focused on the sales and marketing of medical devices and pharmaceuticals to healthcare providers in Britain and Ireland, generated good operating profit growth.

In Britain, DCC Vital generated strong profit growth in the supply of products and services to general practitioners ("GP's"), enhancing its market leadership position in that sector.  The business also grew its sales of medical devices into hospitals, particularly in the areas of laparoscopic surgery and anaesthesia.  As reported previously,  pharma margins were impacted by the weaker sterling exchange rate. In Ireland, DCC Vital grew its pharma sales both organically and by acquisition. In January 2017, it enhanced its offering to Irish hospital and retail pharmacy customers with the acquisition of Medisource, the market leader in the sourcing and supply of exempt medicinal products.  Medisource has performed well since acquisition.  DCC Vital also grew its sales of medical devices to hospitals in Ireland, with particularly good growth in the diagnostics area.  In addition, the business successfully launched a range of products for the Irish GP market, leveraging its existing GP supplies portfolio and infrastructure in Britain.

DCC Health & Beauty Solutions, which provides outsourced solutions to international nutrition and beauty brand owners, continued its track record of very strong organic revenue and profit growth, benefiting from further investment in  sales and product development resources.  The business generated strong sales growth in nutrition across all of its product formats - tablets, capsules, soft gels and liquids - with particularly strong growth in soft gels and liquids.  The sales growth was achieved with customers across its key markets of Britain, Scandinavia and continental Europe. The business's activities in the beauty sector also performed very well with strong sales growth across a range of customers, particularly in the premium skincare area. Design Plus, acquired in September 2015, generated very strong organic sales and profit growth, benefiting from sales growth into the US market and cross-selling into existing DCC Health & Beauty customers. 

DCC Healthcare is well placed to continue to build on its track record of organic and acquisitive growth. The business is ambitious to expand its geographic footprint and to enhance its product and service offering to healthcare providers and health and beauty brand owners. 

DCC Technology, which trades as Exertis, achieved strong operating profit growth of 17.1% (12.5% on a constant currency basis), reflecting organic profit growth in the UK and Ireland and the benefit of the acquisitions of Hammer and CUC completed in the current and prior year respectively.

The UK business generated strong growth.  The business benefited from the acquisition of Hammer and good organic growth in audio visual, print and office supplies, smart technology and security products, which more than offset the continued weak market for computing and mobile products. Hammer, acquired in December 2016, has performed well since acquisition and has significantly strengthened the server and storage offering of Exertis, particularly in the provision of products and services to the growing application and cloud-service provider market.  The acquisition, together with recent investments in the wireless networking, security and audio visual business units, have enabled the UK business to further develop its vendor portfolio and identify opportunities to extend its enterprise solutions offering. 

The UK business has completed and commissioned its new national distribution centre in Lancashire. The centre is now operational and the transition from the business' existing facilities will be completed by the end of the financial year ending 31 March 2018. The upgrade of the business' technology platform is also being implemented on a phased basis and is progressing in line with expectations.

The business in Ireland achieved strong organic growth, driven by good business development in the mobile and retail sectors and growth in the sales of networking and security products. The business in the Middle East, although modest, achieved very strong organic growth as it continues to expand its supplier relationships and customer reach in the region.

DCC Technology's business in Continental Europe recorded a mixed performance. CUC, now renamed Exertis Connect, which was acquired in December 2015, performed well and has successfully extended its cable and connector product range into the UK and Sweden. Operating profit declined in the French consumer products business reflecting a weak demand environment, particularly for consumer storage and navigation products, which resulted in margin pressure.  The business in the Nordic region generated good growth, driven by continued growth in audio visual products and the organic expansion of its operations into Norway.

The Supply Chain Services business continues to invest in its global service offering and achieved good organic profit growth as it benefited from new contract wins.  

Forward-looking statements

This announcement contains some forward-looking statements that represent DCC's expectations for its business, based on current expectations about future events, which by their nature involve risk and uncertainty.  DCC believes that its expectations and assumptions with respect to these forward-looking statements are reasonable, however because they involve risk and uncertainty as to future circumstances, which are in many cases beyond DCC's control, actual results or performance may differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements.