Guinness sales boosted by strong take-up in the stout among women

Guinness sales in Europe boomed in the first six months of its financial year, up 24 per cent, according to results out from its parent company Diageo. Nearly all of this growth was in Britain and Ireland while Guinness 0.0 also performed strongly, more than doubling in the period.

This was also driven in part by a take-up of the Irish stout among women, who now make up about a third of Guinness drinkers. Diageo chief Debra Crew said that while Guinness now had a “broad appeal”, “rugby lads still like it”.

“In Britain the number of women drinking Guinness is up 24 per cent and it’s the 25-44 year age group that have grown in Guinness drinker numbers most,” she said on a media call following publication of the results.

Ms Crew also noted that Guinness 0.0 was now available in more than 1,000 Irish pubs, while it accounted for 4 per cent of the output of Guinness at its St James’s Gate brewery in Dublin.

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Overall, Diageo missed first-half sales estimates on Tuesday, as a sharp decline in Latin America weighed on its overall performance.

The maker of Guinness and Tanquery gin reported a 0.6 per cent fall in organic net sales, slightly missing analyst estimates for flat organic sales, according to a company compiled consensus.

Diageo warned in November that sales in Latin America and the Caribbean were set to decline by over 20 per cent amid a build-up of unsold stock in Mexico and Brazil, where drinkers were buying less premium spirits.

The move knocked investor confidence and some shareholders were unhappy with how the company, led by new chief executive Debra Crew, had handled the run-up to the warning.

“We have taken action and have further plans to reduce inventory to more appropriate levels for the current consumer environment in the region by the end of fiscal 24,” Crew said in a statement, adding this was a key priority.

Sales in the region fell 23 per cent. Excluding the impact of the division, organic net sales grew 2.5 per cent driven by Asia Pacific, Europe and Africa, with a decline of 1.5 per cent in North America.

Organic operating profit fell 5.4 per cent, a worse result than forecast by analysts, who expected a decline of 4.7 per cent on average.

Diageo said it still expects organic net sales growth to improve in the second half of its financial year.- Additional reporting by the Financial Times and Reuters

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