Diageo sales up 9% in Q1 as shares rocket

DIAGEO, the world’s biggest spirits group, beat forecasts with a 9% rise in underlying first-quarter sales led by Latin America and expects further growth in its first half, sending shares to a record high.

The British maker of Smirnoff vodka, Captain Morgan rum and Guinness said that although it was alert to any impact from the fragile global economy, trading in its July to September first quarter was marginally ahead of its expectations.

The quarterly sales rise compared with forecast growth of 5.9% in a Reuters poll, and was reported in a trading update ahead of its annual general meeting.