DCC plc

For FY26, revenue declined 2.9% to GBP 15.4 billion, while group operating profit increased 3.6% to GBP 634 million. Adjusted EPS on a continuing basis rose 9.9% from 398.5p to 438.1p. Free cash flow conversion was 108% at the group level, and net debt was GBP 690 million, or 0.9x EBITDA. Return on capital employed improved to 16.8% for the group on a continuing basis and 18.8% for DCC Energy. In DCC Energy, operating profit grew 3.5%; Solutions operating profit rose 1.9% to GBP 419.8 million and Mobility operating profit rose 8.6% to GBP 134.4 million. DCC Technology operating profit grew 4.3% to GBP 79.8 million. Management did not provide numerical forward guidance due to takeover-rule restrictions, but said it expects ongoing strategic progress, growth and continued development activity in the year ahead.

Donal Murphy framed FY26 as a year of transformation and resilience, emphasizing that DCC has now reshaped itself around energy after selling Healthcare and exiting Info Tech. He highlighted the company’s scale opportunities in multi-energy sales and distribution, saying DCC is well on track toward its 2030 ambition and has significant runway in both existing and new markets. His tone was confident and strategic, but he repeatedly stressed that takeover rules limit forward-looking commentary.

Conor Murphy focused on the numbers and capital discipline. He cited GBP 15.4 billion of revenue, GBP 634 million of operating profit, 438.1p adjusted EPS, GBP 689 million of free cash flow, and 108% conversion, with working capital days improving to 0.4 days from 5.7 days last year. He also noted net debt of GBP 690 million, capex at 1.1x depreciation, a GBP 110 million acquisition spend mainly on liquid gas, and GBP 700 million returned to shareholders, while reaffirming the group’s strong investment-grade balance sheet.

Analysts focused mainly on Energy Solutions, asking about the strong second-half product performance, March volume pull-forward, and the margin pressure and one-off costs in Energy Services. Management said the product business benefited from a continued shift toward higher-margin liquid gas, modest support from the FLAGA acquisition, and procurement gains, while March saw demand pulled forward because of commodity volatility and supply concerns, rather than a change in underlying usage. On Energy Services, they pointed to weaker government support, delayed customer capex, more competition, and mid-single-digit millions of one-off restructuring costs, mostly in the U.K., but said the actions were about streamlining management and not reducing capability.