DCC PLC has completed the sale of a majority stake in its liquid gas business in Hong Kong & Macau to CITADEL Pacific Ltd for an initial enterprise value of c.US$150 million. DCC received US$105 million in cash consideration on completion, with the balance represented by a retained minority stake in the combined operations. The business distributed the equivalent of 183 million litres of liquid gas and recorded an operating profit of US$19.5 million in the financial year ended 31 March 2024. The transaction is expected to result in a modest exceptional profit in the year ended 31 March 2025. DCC Energy has significant growth opportunities across its business in Europe and North America, and the transaction sharpens the strategic and regional focus of the division in line with their Cleaner Energy in Your Power strategy.
The divestment brings further strategic and geographic focus to DCC Energy as they implement their Cleaner Energy in Your Power strategy. The company outlined the progress made towards their 2030 vision at their full year results presentation on 14 May. DCC will continue to bring cleaner energy for customers across Europe and North America. The business represented approximately 2% of DCC's operating profit in the year ended 31 March 2024. DCC has the option to divest its remaining stake under an agreed mechanism after a number of years. DCC is a leading international sales, marketing, and support services group, providing solutions in the energy, healthcare, and technology sectors across 22 countries.
CITADEL Pacific Ltd, the buyer, is a diversified private holding company with operations in various regions, including the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau, the Republic of Palau, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam. The company has reached over US$750 million in turnover in 2023 and has recently entered the Solar and Data Center businesses, positioning itself for further expansion in rapidly growing sectors. The announcement contains forward-looking statements that represent DCC's expectations for its business, based on current expectations about future events, which involve risk and uncertainty. DCC believes that its expectations and assumptions with respect to these forward-looking statements are reasonable, however, actual results or performance may differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements.