Guinness sales broadly flat last year but Hop House 13 fizzes

Guinness sales were unchanged last year globally but rose in slightly in Ireland due to the continued success of Hop House 13 lager. Other beer brands owned by owner Diageo declined 4 per cent but sales of spirits climbed 10 per cent.

The drinks group said Guinness net sales globally were broadly flat due in part to a 5 per cent decline in Africa as more consumers switched to value beer. Sales in Europe were up 2 per cent.

In Ireland, net sales were flat. However, Guinness net sales were up 2 per cent, driven primarily by Hop House 13 lager. The brand, which launched in February 2015, has now notched up sales of 25 million pints in its local market. Net sales were up 31 per cent year on year, Diageo said.

The performance of Baileys in its home country remains strong with 7 per cent growth. Globally, sales grew 5 per cent across all regions .

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Diageo reported net sales that were up 15 per cent to £12.1 billion during the year with operating profit rising 25 per cent to £3.6 billion.

Organic operating profit grew 5.6 per cent, ahead of top-line growth, driven by good progress on productivity, although this was partially offset by implementation costs and one-off items.

The company, which recommended a final dividend increase of 5 per cent to bring the full-year dividend to 62.2 pence per share, said it had approved a buy-back programme to return up to £1.5 billion to shareholders over the next 12 months.