When I think about DCC's track record over the last 10 years, which has been phenomenal on the LPG side, a lot of that success is undoubtedly due the management team. However, you can only squeeze out this unit margin improvement every year for so long before it becomes unsustainable. If you are a distributor and the product price is fixed, and each year the market volume declines by 2 to 3% or 1 to 2%, whichever figure you choose, and you increase the unit margin by 2 to 3% per year to grow the operating profit, at some point, your gross profit becomes an unsustainably high portion of the total revenue base for the industry. It seems like this could become a house of cards if the story is just about continuous unit margin improvement.

A truck arriving in a village will know with some accuracy how much it needs to deliver and can efficiently fill the required tanks. If a customer living 10 miles off the grid requests a delivery, the industry can say, "I see you still have 35% gas in your tank. I'll get to you in two weeks when I'm in your area." Such technologies are being introduced, delivering significant savings, like a 10 to 15% reduction in costs.

You mentioned the culture at DCC, which is well-known in Ireland, though perhaps not as much among potential investors across Europe. Could you describe the culture as you experience it, specifically, the management meetings focused on cash flows and returns. Is there a sense of genuine delegated responsibility within the business? Do people feel like they own their P&L and are free to make decisions?

They are under continuous scrutiny regarding financial performance. Any divergence from targets is addressed, but the DCC style, perhaps an Irish style you are familiar with, is collaborative. Instead of asking, "What the hell are you doing about this?" it's more about, "What can we do about this particular issue?" If you are off track, the question is, "What are we going to do about this?" There is no blame culture, it is collaborative. Coming from other businesses, I found the DCC approach incredibly refreshing and empowering. It is about moving forward together.