There is a feeling about that the once fashionable scatter-gun approach of industrial holding companies is outdated, the perceived wisdom now is to be lean, mean and tightly focused. Trading difficulties encountered by James Crean, Fitzwilton and others have highlighted management difficulties in effectively managing the sum of the parts of often diverse businesses under one umbrella,
A notable exception is DCC which is still notching up solid growth, the investment group this week reporting a 16.3 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to £36.7 million in the year ending March last. Turnover improved 15. 3 per cent to £703 million, solid growth achieved in its four divisions, computer, food energy and healthcare.
Chief executive and deputy chairman Jim Fla- vin says that the group is still on the trail of appropriate acquisitions that can provide additional scale and complement DCC's "continuing strong organic profit growth". Last year DCC spend £26 million on building up its asset base. Flavin emphasises that DCC is not "a dealer in companies" but is disciplined in its spending, selecting areas of business which offer "above average growth ".
DCC, like any good Dail deputy, is looking after its constituents , the shareholders who provide the working capital. They see total dividends rise 20 per cent to 9.6p a share with the additional bonus of a rising share price. The market liked the results, lifting the equity to an all-time high of 710p.
