DCC eyes further expansion in the US and Asian fuel markets after maiden acquisitions this year

DCC is eyeing further fuel acquisitions in the US and Asia in the hope of winning market share in a fragmented market.

Donal Murphy, chief executive of the support services company, said the company was keen to ramp up its presence in the two markets, having concentrated on building its energy division in Europe for the last eight years.

Last week, the firm announced that it had entered the US fuel market with a £152m acquisition of Retail West, a liquid petroleum gas (LPG) firm that operates in 10 states.

In April, the Irish company made its first foray outside Europe by buying Shell’s LPG business in Hong Kong and Macau.

Mr Murphy said that it would be seeking to help Retail West expand its presence. “It is all about finding the next couple of opportunities,” he said. “We have the capital to go and do that and we think in a market with 4,000 players with a business like DCC we should be able to grow.”

The US LPG market is nine times the size of the French market, which is currently DCC’s largest.

He added that the firm was keen to take its time with the expansion, following a similar pattern to the one it adopted in Europe. Having entered the LPG market in Europe in 2009, it has steadily added to its portfolio.

Robert Plant, an analyst at JP Morgan, said: “We think DCC will be able to act as a consolidator in the US, just as it has in Europe.”

The firm, which also has technology and healthcare arms, posted strong results for the six months to September 30, bucking a wider trend among its support services peers.

Revenues in the period rose 17.1pc, from £5.5bn in the previous year to £6.45bn, while pre-tax profits rose 4.5pc to £73.2m. Its interim dividend increased by 10pc to 40.89p per share.