DCC offers Shell $529M for French LPG business

Support services group DCC forecast "very significant" profit growth this financial year, after posting a bigger-than-expected 7 percent rise in annual earnings and announcing its largest ever acquisition. The company said yesterday it was buying French gas company Butagaz from oil firm Shell for 464 million euros ($519 million) and placing 4.2 million new ordinary shares to help fund the deal. Chief Executive Tommy Breen said he expected a significant impact from the acquisition in early December and saw further opportunities in the energy market -- DCC's biggest profit generator -- as oil firms dispose of downstream businesses. "We believe there will continue to be opportunities and maybe some of them bigger over the next few years, coming out of the oil majors," he said. DCC shares jumped more than 12 percent in early trade, the biggest rise on the FTSE 250 midcap index. They were 9.6 percent higher at 4,812 pence by 0750 GMT. "Full year profits were towards the top end of the guided profit range," said Panmure analysts who have a "buy" rating on the stock. "Prospects remain excellent and the group expects very significant profit growth in 2015/16," they added. Breen said he planned to spend around 150 million pounds on acquisitions a year across the business, which also includes healthcare and technology divisions. The Dublin-based company, whose activities range from oil distribution to waste management, said pretax profit rose to 199.6 million pounds ($312.5 million) for the year ended March 1, up from 186.9 million a year earlier. It was expected to report profit of 192.75 million, according to a Thomson Reuters poll of nine analysts.