Shares of Diageo PLC (LON: DGE) tumbled 7% today after the maker of Johnnie Walker whiskey reported lower-than-expected sales and plunging profits for the past year.
Diageo reported that its operating profits plunged 47.1% to £2.1 billion. A tumble in profits came after sales fell almost 9% to £11.8 billion.
“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,” said chief executive Ivan Menezes.
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“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… We are well-positioned to emerge stronger.”
Despite tumbling profits, Diageo is committed to paying the final dividend to shareholders as last year, of 42.47p a share. This makes the full-year dividend to 69.88p, an increase of 2% compared to a year ago.

Diageo share price plunged 7% to trade below 2700p for the first time in 5 weeks.