Diageo shares lifted by strong performance

The price of shares in drinks manufacturer Diageo (LON:DGE) rallied 7.61% to 2,713.50p (as of 11:45 BST) after management provided a sales update ahead of its AGM. Management said that the company had made a good start to the current year with robust off-trade demand and on-trade channels gradually reopening around the world.

CEO Ivan Menezes commented: “We are continuing to support our customers and we are seeing the positive impact of the actions we took to help the on-trade recover. As demand recovers, we are using our consumer insights and marketing effectiveness tools to accelerate smart investment behind innovation and marketing as well as behind new opportunities in the at-home occasion and in the e-commerce channel.

“Our outlook for the first half of fiscal 21 has improved since the year-end, reflecting the good start to the year, particularly for our US business. We continue to expect sequential improvement in organic net sales and operating profit compared to the second half of fiscal 20. Compared to the first half of fiscal 20, we still expect lower organic net sales and margin dilution.

“I am pleased with the resilient performance of our business in the current challenging operating environment and encouraged by our progress. While the pace of recovery is uncertain, I am confident in our strategy, the long-term fundamentals of our business and Diageo’s ability to emerge stronger“.