DIAGEO’S MIX OF FORTUNES
DIAGEO has announced that sales of its variants of Gordon’s gin and Captain Morgan rum are selling well during lockdown as Britons try making cocktails at home.
Dayalan Nayager, the company’s managing director for Great Britain, said: “People are being more creative and not just having a can of lager.” However, the boom in home cocktail consumption has not been enough to prevent falling revenues and profits.
Diageo, which announced its interim results yesterday, said pre-tax profits for the six months ending on December 31 dropped by 10.8 per cent to £2.2billion, while revenues were 5.3 per cent lower at £6.9billion.
Both were impacted by pandemic restrictions and adverse currency movements, it said. Chief executive Ivan Menzies warned: “We expect ongoing volatility and disruption in the second half of the year, particularly in the on-trade channel, which will make performance more challenging.”