DCC plc is a leading Irish international sales, marketing and support services group. Headquartered in Dublin, the Group operates across three sectors: energy, healthcare and technology. DCC plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
 | |
| Company type | Public limited company |
|---|---|
| LSE: DCC FTSE 100 Component | |
| Industry | Business services |
| Founded | 9 April 1976 in Dublin, Ireland |
| Headquarters | Dublin, Ireland |
Key people |
|
| Revenue |  £22.205 billion (2023)[1] |
| £655.7 million (2023)[1] | |
| £346.8 million (2023)[1] | |
Number of employees | 15,655 (2023)[1] |
| Website | www.dcc.ie |
History
editThe company was founded by Jim Flavin in 1976 as Development Capital Corporation Limited.[2] Originally the company focused on providing venture capital to start ups, however in the mid-1980s it changed direction and became an industrial holding company, changing its name to DCC and floating on the Irish Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange in 1994.[3]
The company was embroiled in a controversy over the issue of insider trading in Fyffes plc, the Irish fruit importing company in which a subsidiary of DCC, Lotus Green, held a stake which was sold in the year 2000. In 2002 Fyffes sued DCC over the sale of its stake in the company. The case was tried in the Irish High Court from December 2004 until July 2005, and on 21 December 2005 judgement was handed down. DCC was cleared of insider trading, although it was found to have been acting as a "single entity" with Lotus Green and Jim Flavin with regards to the sale of the shares. Fyffes appealed to the Supreme Court of Ireland and, in a judgement[4] on 27 July 2007, the Supreme Court overturned the High Court's verdict and ruled that the documents that had been in Flavin's possession when DCC sold the shares had indeed been price sensitive. In April 2008, Fyffes settled its case against DCC for an amount of €37.6 million.[5] As a result of this case, DCC and Flavin came under the examination of the Irish Director of Corporate Enforcement.[6] In January 2010, The report of the High Court Inspector into the affairs of DCC plc was published. The Director of Corporate Enforcement concluded that no further action was warranted by his Office.[7]
In 2011, DCC bought Maxol's Home Heating company, Maxol Direct, which it re-branded as Emo.[8] In 2012, DCC spent around €100 million acquiring LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) distribution businesses in the Netherlands, Britain, Sweden and Norway.[9]
In August 2014, DCC announced that it reached an agreement with ExxonMobil to acquire the Esso Express petrol station network and the Esso Motorway concessions in France.[10]
The company joined the FTSE 100 share index of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with the highest market capitalisation in December 2015.[11]
In February 2015, DCC completed the disposal of substantially all its Food & Beverage subsidiaries.[12] During the same year the company acquired Butagaz S.A.S., a French LPG business, from Shell for €464 million.[13] The acquisition made DCC Europe's third-largest LPG distributor.[14]
In March 2016, the company agreed to acquire Alimentation Couche Tard's commercial and aviation fuels business in Denmark for €40 million.[15] The deal included a 139-site retail petrol station network and supply contracts with 66 dealers.[16]
In April 2017, DCC announced it had agreed to sell its Environmental division to Exponent, a private equity firm, for £219 million.[17] The company also announced the acquisition of Shell's liquefied petroleum gas business in Hong Kong and Macau for £120 million, its first acquisition outside of Europe, and the retirement of its chief executive Tommy Breen.[18]
In July 2017 Donal Murphy, previously Managing Director of DCC Energy, became Chief Executive.[19]
In 2018, DCC Healthcare completed its first acquisition in the US Health and Beauty sector: Elite One Source Nutritional Services.[20] In the same year DCC Technology purchased Stampede – also its first foray into North America.[21]
In 2019 DCC purchased the retail fuel operations of Tesco Ireland,[22] with these being converted to automated stations under "Certa" branding.[23] This branding is a variant of the "Certas" name which is used for home heating oil in the UK[24] and as the holding company for their Esso branded stations in Europe.[25]
In 2021, DCC acquired Almo Corporation in Group's largest acquisition to date.[26]
In 2022, DCC announced a new strategy for its energy businesses. The core of this strategy was to bring decarbonisation solutions for its 9.5 million DCC Energy customers. Various acquisitions were made in services and renewable energy – Protech, Sys EnR, PVO and Freedom Heat Pumps.[27]
In September 2022, DCC Healthcare significantly expanded in medical devices with its largest acquisition to date, Medi-Globe.[28]
In 2023, DCC Energy grew its share of services and renewables profit to 28% and made further acquisitions in the space – AEI, Hafod Renewable Energy and O'SiTOiT.[29]
Divisions
editThe company is organised into three divisions: DCC Energy, DCC Healthcare and DCC Technology.[30]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d "Annual Report 2023" (PDF). DCC plc. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
- ^ DCC plc Archived 26 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine: DCC plc history
- ^ "Inspector's Report into the affairs of DCC, Chapter 5" (PDF).
- ^ Judgement Archived 19 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Fyffes gets €37.6m in DCC settlement RTÉ, 2009
- ^ Companies Watchdog Examines Flavin Judgment Irish Times
- ^ "Inspector's Report into the affairs of DCC". Archived from the original on 20 April 2013.
- ^ "DCC Acquires Maxol Direct Northern Ireland". OilFiredUp. 8 October 2011. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ^ "DCC set to buy firm in Netherlands". The Irish Times.
- ^ "DCC agrees to acquire French unmanned network". investis.com. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
- ^ Davies, Rob (2 December 2015). "Morrisons, G4S and Foxtons lose out in FTSE reshuffle". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
- ^ "DCC completes sale of Robert Roberts and Kelkin". The Irish Times.
- ^ "DCC completes €464m acquisition of gas firm Butagaz". The Irish Times.
- ^ "DCC jumps, as company announces biggest acquisition yet". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ "DCC reaches deal with Topaz-owner to buy Danish business". Irish Independent.
- ^ "DCC in 'strategically important' €30m fuels buy". Irish Examiner. 24 March 2016.
- ^ "DCC to sell Environmental business for £219m". RTÉ. 5 April 2017.
- ^ Curry, Rhiannon (5 April 2017). "DCC makes first push outside Europe as chief executive plans retirement". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ "DCC picks energy boss as next chief executive". Reuters. 5 April 2017. Archived from the original on 5 April 2017.
- ^ "DCC Health & Beauty Solutions acquires Elite One". Business and Finance. 8 February 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- ^ "Exertis parent acquires Stampede". Technology Reseller. 28 August 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- ^ Daly, Gavin. "DCC fills up with 22 Tesco petrol stations" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
- ^ "Find A Petrol Station Near You | Certa Fuel Stations Ireland | Certa Fuel Stations | Diesel & Petrol Stations Open 24 Hour". www.certafuel.ie. 6 April 2020.
- ^ "Oil Suppliers & Fuel Management Solutions". Certas Energy.
- ^ "Homepage". Certas Energy Retail.
- ^ "DCC acquires US appliance distributor Almo in $610m deal". Irish Times. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ "DCC appoints Shell executive Fabian Ziegler as CEO of DCC Energy". London South East. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ "DCC Healthcare Acquires Medi-Glove Technologies". Medical Product Outsourcing. 10 October 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ "DCC continues strong growth amid record profit". Irish Times. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ "Our Business". dcc.ie. Retrieved 16 August 2017.