Cohort cost Micro-P £5m, stock market filing reveals

DCC Group reveals what its distribution arm paid for UK security VAD as it files upbeat results

The parent company of Micro-P has revealed it paid £5m to acquire security VAD Cohort Technology last year as it unveiled its annual results.

Anglo-Irish conglomerate DCC Group made the disclosure as it announced to the London Stock Exchange a 6.2 per cent rise in sales for the 12 months to 31 March to £11.2bn.

A healthy 11.5 per cent jump in operating profit to £208m was driven partly by strong growth at its DCC Technology arm, which owns several UK distribution brands, including Micro-P and Gem, chief executive Tommy Breen said.

DCC Technology, whose constituent businesses were recently rebranded under the Exertis banner, saw total revenue soar by 22.4 per cent to £2.264bn, with operating profit rising 16 per cent to £48.1m.

Some 81 per cent of DCC Technology's sales – roughly £1.83bn – were drawn from the UK, where DCC said it generated "excellent operating profit growth across its principal product lines".

"The performance was particularly strong in mobile computing and communications products such as smartphones, laptops and tablets," DCC added.

DCC Technology bolstered its business in October by acquiring security and networking VAD Cohort, which it revealed was for an enterprise value of £5m, a figure not disclosed at the time.

Following the Exertis rebranding in October, DCC Technology will undergo further integration of operations and services, including an upgrade of the logistics and IT infrastructure, DCC said.

"It is pleasing that, in our 20th year as a listed company, the group has achieved another strong result, with operating profit growth across each of DCC's five divisions," said Breen.

"Overall Group operating profit was 11.5 per cent ahead of the prior year, driven primarily by strong growth in DCC Technology and DCC Healthcare."