Guinness sales drop 5% at home

SALES of Guinness in its home market fell by 5% over the course of the past year, according to latest figures from parent company, Diageo.

The international drinks giant yesterday reported a 6% rise in operating profit to £2.57 billion (€3.15bn) and a 5% rise in net sales to £9.8bn for the 12 months to the end of June. It said that group net sales in Ireland fell by 8% in its latest financial year.

This figure covers its total Irish-based product portfolio, which also includes the likes of Harp, Smithwicks, Baileys and (the distribution of) Carlsberg and Budweiser.