(Correcting that Diageo reported on Thursday.)

Diageo PLC on Thursday reported a jump in full-year profit and lifted its payout, due to double-digit sales growth across all regions.

In the financial year that ended June 30, the London-based brewer and distiller’s pretax profit rose 18% to £4.39 billion from £3.71 billion the year before.

This was on net sales growth of 21% to £15.45 billion from £12.73 billion.

The FTSE 100 firm credited the growth to a continued recovery in on-trade, resilient consumer demand in off-trade, and market share gains. On-trade includes sales in bars and restaurants, while off-trade means sales in supermarkets and other shops for at-home consumption. On-trade sales suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic, while off-trade boomed.

Diageo said its results were underpinned by favourable industry trends.

All regions delivered double-digit growth in the year, it said.

‘I am very pleased with our fiscal 2022 results. We delivered double-digit organic net sales growth across all regions, and we gained or held off-trade market share in over 85% of our total net sales value in measured markets. We expanded operating margin while increasing marketing investment ahead of net sales growth and we used our strong cash generation to invest in long-term growth,’ Chief Executive Ivan Menezes said.

Diageo declared a final dividend of 44.59 pence per share, up 5.0% from 42.47p the year before. This takes its full-year dividend to 76.18p, reflecting a 5.0% increase from 72.55p.

Going forward, Diageo plans to focus on revenue growth and ‘everyday efficiency.’

The company cautioned that it expects the current inflationary environment to be ‘challenging’.

Nonetheless, it expects its organic operating margin to benefit from ’premiumisation’ trends and operating leverage, while investing in marketing. Premiumisation refers to consumers drinking less but better, which benefits more expensive brands.

‘Looking ahead to fiscal 2023, we expect the operating environment to be challenging, with ongoing volatility related to Covid-19, significant cost inflation, a potential weakening of consumer spending power and global geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty. Notwithstanding these factors, I am confident in the resilience of our business and our ability to navigate these headwinds,’ Menezes added.

Diageo shares were trading 0.6% higher at 3,787.50 pence each in London on Thursday at midday.

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.