Guinness owner Diageo delays full-year results on pandemic impact
Diageo is pushing back the publication of its full-year results by five days to allow more time for its auditors to assess the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
“[The delay] will allow Diageo and its auditors, PwC, sufficient time to complete the process of preparing and reviewing the results, given the practical challenges of remote working,” the maker of Tanqueray gin and Smirnoff vodka said in a statement.
The world’s largest spirits maker will now report its preliminary results for the year ended 30 June 30 on 4 August, instead of 30 July. It will also delay the release of its annual regulatory filing by two days.
Diageo’s share price fell more than two per cent in early trading following the announcement.
The move comes after Diageo scrapped its annual forecast for sales and profit growth, and suspended its £4.5bn share buyback plan in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The firm had said in February that it expected the outbreak to drag down its annual profit by up to £200m, while organic net sales will drop by between £225m and £325m.
Hope is on the horizon, however, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce tomorrow whether pubs will be allowed to reopen on 4 July.
He is also expected to reveal the outcome of a review on relaxing the 2m social distancing rule.
Research by trade body UK Hospitality today revealed pubs and restaurants across the UK will only be trading at just over half of last year’s levels by the end of 2020.