IoI Guinness sales up 4%
“Of these, Hop House 13 Lager is proving a standout success now holding almost 3% share of lager in the Republic of Ireland. Off this strong growth Guinness now has 34.6% share of volume in the on-trade in the Republic of Ireland.”
Diageo Ireland opened its Open Gate Brewery to the public in November 2015 and since then has welcomed thousands of beer enthusiasts.
While it’s difficult to compare Diageo’s inconsistent parameters with each year’s results (such as “Rep of Ireland” last year with “Island of Ireland” this year), the 4% IoI rise in Guinness net sales this year compares with a 2% growth in net sales of Guinness from Diageo Ireland last year – but this year other Island of Ireland beer brands in Diageo Ireland’s portfolio declined by 4%. Apart from Ireland, Guinness also gained share and increased net sales in Great Britain. Net global of Guinness grew 4% globally, too.
In Nigeria, momentum continued and net sales of Guinness grew 3% driven by the success of the ‘Made of Black’ campaign and activation against the football viewing occasion. Cameroon and Ghana saw a double-digit increase in net sales.
On the island of Ireland Diageo’s net sales of spirits were down 1%. Again, comparisons with last year are complicated by Diageo’s use of “Diageo Ireland” last year in describing how “net sales of spirits were down 2% for Diageo Ireland”.
Within the Spirits category Gin remains the fastest-growing segment; Tanqueray and Gordon’s have been top consumer choices in this growth with big gains in the last 12 months, reports Diageo.
Tanqueray grew 107% in volume and was voted number one Bartenders Choice spirit brand by the World’s Top 50 Bars. Gordon’s grew 4% in volume which compares with volume growth of 1.7% last year.
Overall, Diageo plc’s organic results indicate volume growth of 1.3% with net sales growth of 2.8% (reported net sales decline of 3.0% to £10.49bn in 2016 from £10.81bn in 2015 as organic growth in each region and acquisitions were more than offset by adverse exchange and disposals) and growth in Operating Profits of 3.5% (reported 1.6%).
“Our six global brands and our US spirits business are all back in growth and we’ve seen a significant improvement in the performance of our Scotch and beer portfolios,” commented Diageo’s Chief Executive Ivan Menezes.
Liqueurs represent 5% of Diageo’s net sales and these grew 3%. Baileys, the leading brand for Diageo in the liqueur category, grew net sales by 4% driven by double-digit growth in the UK. There was also strong performance in Continental Europe with improving trends in Iberia and with double-digit growth in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Baileys’ biggest growth drivers were on- and off-trade premise visibility, focused media content and sampling. Growth was also attributed to the festive season’s update of the campaign ’It’s Not Christmas Without You’ and investment on social media in Italy, Great Britain, Sweden and Denmark. The brand was also on air in Ireland for the first time in four years.
