Britain's FTSE rises, boosted by weak sterling, DCC

* FTSE 100 up 0.2 percent at close

* UK mid caps mark record closing level

* Services company DCC (Frankfurt: DCC.F - news) top of blue-chip index

* BP flounders after profit slumps (Adds detail, updates prices at close)

By Kit Rees and Helen Reid

LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - British shares rose on Tuesday, boosted by a weak sterling and a surge in services company DCC , while UK mid caps posted a record closing level.

Sterling fell to its lowest in two weeks against the dollar, contributing to gains for Britain's blue-chip FTSE index which has many dollar-earning constituents.

The FTSE 100 ended the session 0.2 percent higher at 7,186.22 points while the British mid cap index closed 1 percent higher at a record closing level of 18,559.70 points.

DCC was the top performer among the blue chips, rising after the company said it would buy a retail petrol station network of ExxonMobil's Norwegian unit, Esso Norge AS, for 2.43 billion Norwegian crowns ($293.38 million).

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in the Ireland (Other OTC: IRLD - news) -based company were up 5.6 percent and marked their biggest one-day gain since Nov. 2015.

Oil major BP suffered after the company said its 2016 profit slumped to the lowest level in at least a decade, to $2.59 billion. BP shares were down more than 4 percent, the worst-performing FTSE stock. The FTSE 350 oil & gas index dropped more than 2 percent.

Engine maker Rolls Royce (LSE: RR.L - news) , however, was a top gainer, up almost 3 percent. The stock featured in Citigroup (NYSE: C - news) 's 'top calls' for the day.

"Results next week should mark the inflection from fire-fighting to looking to the future," Citi analysts wrote in a note.

Materials stocks were the top sectoral gainer, helped by a weaker pound due to their operations abroad. Precious metals miners Fresnillo (Frankfurt: A0MVZE - news) and Randgold Resources were the biggest gainers, both up more than 4 percent.

Education group Pearson (Xetra: 858266 - news) , which suffered its worst-ever daily fall on Jan. 18, was also a top gainer, up 3.6 percent after Morgan Stanley (Xetra: 885836 - news) raised its target price on the stock to 615p from 550p.

Among the mid caps, which outperformed their blue chip peers, workwear and hygiene company Berendsen (LSE: BRSN.L - news) rose almost 7 percent after RBC analysts upgraded the stock to "outperform" from "sector perform", saying the European business was in good shape.

The small-cap index was up 0.4 percent, also hitting a record high and closing at 5,294.21 points, its highest closing level on record. (Reporting by Kit Rees and Helen Reid; Editing by Catherine Evans)