I have noticed the pendulum swinging back. In the US, there was a strong realization that carbon-based fuels will be necessary for much longer, and continued investment is needed. There are degrees of this swing, evident in DCC's decision to double down on energy, showing confidence to commit fully, whereas before, they seemed eager to diversify away. Is this shift primarily due to changes in the ESG environment, or is there another factor at play?

In contrast, DCC is all about the money. As a senior leader, you might have one or two meetings a week where you go through your numbers, and everything is about achieving a return on capital employed of 20%. That is the ideal scenario, although not everything hits 20%, as you can imagine.

Don't the other fuel cards also get accepted at your sites?

Additionally, brand loyalty in fuel is minimal. It is surprising how often people switch, which isn't ideal for investors seeking long-term returns. Loyalty is more prevalent in fuel distribution because drivers build long-term relationships with customers by delivering fuel directly to their premises. Therefore, there is more stickiness in fuel distribution compared to fuel cards.

What do you see as the profit trajectory for the fuel card business? Can it still be a growth business, or is it more likely to be flat or even shrink?

The perfect conditions for a fuel card business occur when the market price isn't directly tied to the barrel price, but rather when you are in a period of contango rather than backwardation. If the price of fuel is $65 a barrel now and gradually increases to $100 over three years, you don't want it to jump overnight to $100. Instead, if it increases by two or three dollars each week, you can forecast with Platts and similar tools to see that you have a much more profitable business than in the last 18 months, where prices dropped from the mid-70s to the low 60s, which has been detrimental to the market. These are factors beyond your control, but you can manage your inventory.