15th Nov 2005 07:03
Diageo PLC15 November 2005 15 November 1005 Diageo Maintains Guidance at Investor Conference in London today Diageo is holding an Investor Conference in London today. At the conference NickRose, Diageo's Chief Financial Officer will tell attendees that Diageo'sguidance for the full year ended June 2006 is unchanged and that organicoperating profit growth can be similar to that achieved on the year ended June2005 even allowing for higher growth in marketing spend and higher pensioncosts. Nick Rose went on to say: 'We continue to see good share gains in the US, even with the price increasesthat we have put through there. The terrible hurricanes in the US have had animpact on our performance in the Southeastern states. It is too early to tellwhether this will impact full year performance or whether the impact will belimited to the first half and we will benefit in the second half fromrestocking. 'In Diageo Europe, we are seeing continued weakness in ready to drink and inGuinness and while we have plans in place to address these trends any benefit isnot expected to be seen until later in the financial year. 'In Diageo International, Latin America remains buoyant. We have made steadyprogress in the three markets which we identified for improvement at the time ofour 2005 results announcement, Taiwan, Korea and Nigeria. In Taiwan, a seriesof actions including management changes and a renewed focus on Johnnie Walkermeans that Johnnie Walker has now overtaken its most significant competitor andis again the leading Scotch whisky brand there. In Korea, the new managementteam is also making good progress. Focus on Windsor has returned the brand togrowth and we will now begin a similar program on Dimple. In Nigeria, volumesare still down year on year, but this is in line with our expectations at thisstage. Guinness Extra Smooth and Harp are doing well and Guinness Malta isbenefiting from improvement in its regional distribution. 'We are on track to deliver our cost synergies but we are seeing pressure oninput costs from higher oil prices. As we said in the AGM statement, ourrelatively high operating margin does mitigate the impact of the current highoil price but it will increase our cost base by around £20 million in thecurrent year. 'With the exception of Guinness our global priority brands, particularlySmirnoff, Johnnie Walker and Captain Morgan, continue to grow strongly. 'We are reiterating our full year guidance although the rate of growth in thefirst half performance may be below our guidance for the full year. We have notgiven full year eps guidance, as reported eps will be impacted by agreementswith tax authorities in respect of brand carrying values. We are stillconfident that the tax rate for '06 will be well below 20% and hope to be ableto give an update on the actual tax rate at the time of the interims.' -ENDS- For further information The presentation materials from the conference will be posted to www.diageo.comat 8.00 am today and a full transcript will be posted at the end of the day. A real time audio cast of the event will be provided for those that would liketo listen to the presentations and Q&A. To participate please use one of thefollowing dial-in numbers: UNITED KINGDOM Toll Number: +44-20-7019-0810 USA Toll Number: +1-210-795-0466 PASSCODE: DIAGEO IR Your EMEA Local Access dial-in numbers can be called from countries other thanthose listed, as long as the participant uses the correct country code. However,International Freephone numbers can only be dialed within the particular countrylisted. Contacts Investor Relations: Catherine James +44 (0)207 927 5272 [email protected] Media Relations: Isabelle Thomas +44(0)207 927 5967 [email protected] Agenda for the event Tuesday 15 November 9.00 Opening remarks by Nick Rose, Chief Financial Officer 9.15 Europe Presentation by Andrew Morgan, President of Diageo Europe 10.00 Global Supply Presentation by David Gosnell, Managing Director of Diageo Global Supply 12.15 North America by Ivan Menezes, President and CEO of Diageo North America 15.00 International by Stuart Fletcher, President of Diageo International 16.00 Q&A session led by Paul Walsh, Chief Executive Officer of Diageo plc 16.45 Closing remarks by Paul Walsh Forward-looking statements This document contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning ofSection 27A of the US Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the USSecurities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements can beidentified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or currentfacts. In particular, all statements that express forecasts, expectations andprojections with respect to future matters, including trends in results ofoperations, margins, growth rates, overall market trends, the impact of interestor exchange rates, the availability of financing to Diageo, anticipated costsavings or synergy and the completion of Diageo's strategic transactions areforward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involverisk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstancesthat will occur in the future. Diageo does not undertake to updateforward-looking statements to reflect any changes in events, conditions orcircumstances on which any such statement is based. The reader should, however,consult any additional disclosures that Diageo may make in documents it files inthe US Securities and Exchange Commission. Notes to Editor Diageo is the world's leading premium drinks business. With its global vision,and local marketing focus, Diageo brings to consumers an outstanding collectionof beverage alcohol brands across the spirits, wine and beer categoriesincluding Smirnoff, Guinness, Johnnie Walker, Baileys, J&B, Cuervo, CaptainMorgan and Tanqueray, and Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards wines. Diageotrades in some 180 countries around the world and is listed on both the New YorkStock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more informationabout Diageo, its people, brands and performance, visit us at www.diageo.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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