Diageo has revealed that its net sales declined by 8.7% to £11.8 billion during the year that ended on June 30, 2020.
Meanwhile, the company's operating profit declined by 47.1% to £2.1 billion; its organic net sales declined by 8.4%; its organic volumes declined by 11.2%; its organic operating profit declined by 14.4%; its net cash from operating activities was £0.9 billion lower than the previous 12 month period at £2.3 billion; and its free cash flow was £1 billion lower at £1.6 billion.
Additionally, basic eps of 60.1 pence decreased by 54.0%; pre-exceptional eps declined by 16.4% to 109.4 pence; and the company's final recommended dividend of 42.47 pence per share is the same as the final dividend for fiscal '19, which brings its full year dividend for fiscal '20 to 69.88 pence per share, which is an increase of 2%.
Diageo also reported that exceptional operating items included non-cash impairment charges of £1.3 billion, and said that measures have been put in place to reinforce its already solid liquidity. These measures include pausing the current three-year return of capital programme, bringing forward a £2 billion USD bond issuance launched in April 2020 and putting in place an additional committed credit facility of £2.5 billion.
"A Year Of Two Halves"
Diageo chief executive Ivan Menezes stated, "Fiscal '20 was a year of two halves. After good, consistent performance in the first half of fiscal '20, the outbreak of COVID-19 presented significant challenges for our business, impacting the full year performance. Through these challenging times, we have acted quickly to protect our people and our business, and to support our customers, partners and communities.
"The actions we have taken to strengthen Diageo over the last six years provide a solid foundation to respond to the impacts of the pandemic. We are now a more agile, efficient and effective business.
"We have taken decisive action through the second half of fiscal '20, tightly managing our costs, reducing discretionary expenditure and reallocating resources across the group. We are further enhancing our data analytics and technology tools to rapidly respond to local consumer and customer shifts triggered by the pandemic. We have strengthened liquidity, giving us flexibility to continue to invest effectively in the business for the long term.
"While the trajectory of the recovery is uncertain, with volatility expected to continue into fiscal '21, I am confident in our strategy, the resilience of our business and am very proud of the way our people have responded. We are well-positioned to emerge stronger."
© 2020 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
