Guinness drinkers lift the gloom at struggling Diageo

RUGBY fans helped Guinness record its strongest growth in a decade in Britain – in a rare bright spot for owner Diageo.

Sales of the black stuff were boosted by demand during the Rugby World Cup last year, despite it being banned inside the 13 stadiums hosting the tournament because of a £13m sponsorship deal with Heineken.

Diageo reported that sales of Guinness in the six months to the end of December jumped 4pc in Britain and were up 5pc in Ireland.

Diageo said it provided Guinness rugby promotional kits to 30,000 pubs across the UK. Its advert, entitled ‘Never Alone’, featuring Gareth Thomas, the former Welsh rugby player who announced in 2009 that he is gay, was viewed by 22m people online.

Its sales globally rose 9pc, helped by a 15pc rise in Africa.

It rereleased old recipes, including port, ale and lager, which helped sales in the fight against the rise of craft beer.

The strong performance of Guinness helped Diageo boost net sales in Great Britain by 3pc.

other stand-out performers in Britain included its luxury – or Reserve – brands that were up 31pc.

The sales boost at home was much needed as the maker of Johnnie Walker scotch and Smirnoff vodka faces continuing difficulties in overseas markets where economies have faltered.

Chief executive Ivan Menezes said its top six global brands all grew in the period and were up 4pc in total.

He said: ‘There have been significant changes in the past two and a half years – the emerging markets took a big shift.

‘But we have come through it and improved costs, marketing, sales and execution… and we are a much fitter and competitive company now.’

Last year it announced £500m of cost- savings and has streamlined many areas of the business.

Half-year organic sales rose a better-than-expected 1.8pc but net sales fell 5pc to £5.6bn, volumes were up 1pc and pre-tax profit rose 9pc to £1.78bn.

Analyst Martin Deboo at broker Jefferies said: ‘The top line is improving and its global brands are turning around, slowly but decisively. Cash productivity is improving and enhanced returns remain in prospect.

‘We think there is now a brightening landscape for the market to contemplate.’

Diageo announced a 5pc rise in its interim dividend to 22.6p. Its shares slipped 25.5p to 1841.5p.