DCC plc

Revenue declined 2.9% to GBP 15.4 billion. Group operating profit increased 3.6% to GBP 634 million, and adjusted EPS rose 9.9% from 398.5p to 438.1p. Return on capital employed improved to 16.8% for the group and 18.8% for DCC Energy; net debt was GBP 690 million, or 0.9x EBITDA. Free cash flow conversion was 108% for the group, with DCC Energy converting 113%; working capital days were 0.4 versus 5.7 a year ago. Forward-looking commentary was limited by takeover rules, but management said DCC expects ongoing strategic progress, growth and continued development activity in the year ahead, and reiterated that it is on track toward its 2030 energy ambition.

Donal Murphy framed FY26 as a year of substantial transformation and volatility, while emphasizing that DCC still delivered good financial performance and made progress toward becoming a focused energy business. He stressed the scale opportunity in energy, the runway for growth in existing and new markets, and the company’s intention to build DCC Energy into a global leader in multi-energy solutions. His tone was confident and strategic, but he repeatedly noted that offer-period restrictions limit what can be said about forecasts and prospects.

Conor Murphy focused on the numbers: revenue of GBP 15.4 billion, operating profit of GBP 634 million, adjusted EPS of 438.1p, and net debt of GBP 690 million at 0.9x EBITDA. He highlighted the 108% free cash flow conversion, the GBP 700 million capital return that reduced share count by 13.7 million shares, and the improvement in group ROCE from 16.5% to 16.8% on a continuing basis. He also pointed to capital discipline, with capex at 1.1x depreciation and a GBP 110 million acquisition spend mainly for liquid gas, while keeping an investment-grade balance sheet.

Analysts pressed on the strong second-half Products performance, the weak Energy Services result, and the impact of March volatility. Management said Products benefited from a modest demand pull-forward tied to Middle East uncertainty, plus continued margin improvement from liquid gas mix and procurement benefits; the March uplift was characterized as mid- to high-single-digit millions and mostly a timing effect rather than higher underlying usage. On Services, management said softer government incentives, weaker corporate decarbonization spend, more competition, and a mix shift to simpler projects hurt margins; they also disclosed mid-single-digit millions of one-off restructuring costs, mostly in the U.K., to streamline the business and improve efficiency without reducing capability.