News outlets such as Bloomberg had suggested a valuation of $10bn or more for Guinness, which is growing in popularity with Gen Z (even experiencing shortages in the UK over Christmas due to booming demand).
Diageo has had a rocky period – issuing a profit alert in 2023 largely due to problems with its Latin America and Caribbean division – leading to reports that it was considering cashing in on Guinness’ popularity by selling .
But in a statement, Diageo says it has ‘no intention’ of offloading the brand.
Keeping hold of a strong performer
Guinness delivered another year of ‘very strong performance’ in fiscal 24, with 15% organic net sales growth.
The top markets for the brand are the US, Great Britain and Ireland: all of where it held or grew share over the last year.
Strong performance for Guinness
In fiscal 2024, Guinness grew volumes and sales in most markets, including the US and Europe: outperforming many other of Diageo’s brands. In Europe, for example, beer net sales grew 18%, driven primarily by Guinness. In the US, net sales of Guiness were up 6%.
Meanwhile, Guinness 0.0 has been a success for the brand: net sales and volume of the innovation more than doubled in fiscal 24 in Europe.
Looking forward, Diageo wants to grow Guinness further through a global football partnership with the Premier League.
It has also made a €100m/$106m investment to decarbonise the historic St. James’ Gate brewery and will accelerate progress towards net zero carbon goals and water and energy consumption, with the aim of making the site one of the most efficient breweries in the world by 2030.
Diageo also holds a 34% stake in LVMH’s champagne and cognac business Moët Hennessy, and is not planning to sell that either.
“We note the recent media speculation around the Guinness brand and our stake in Moët Hennessy and we can confirm that we have no intention to sell either,” says a statement from Diageo published yesterday (Jan 26).
Diageo also explored then abandoned a potential sale of Pimm’s liqueur in 2024, and more recently has started exploring a sale of Ciroc vodka, according to reports.
This month, it has sold rum Venezuelan rum Cacique to Spanish spirits company Bardinet S.A.
Last year, it offloaded fruit flavored liqueur brand Safari and rum brand Pampero.
Fiscal 2024 (year ending June 30, 2024) was a ‘challenging year’ for both Diageo and the industry as a whole, with continued macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility.
Diageo has said it expects negative pressures to persist into fiscal 2025.
The company’s interim results are due on February 4.
