Drinks giant Diageo has raised its full-year profit guidance after a healthy half-year.
The world's largest alcoholic drinks company said that overall earnings were up eight per cent to £1.3 billion in the six months to December 2006.
Diageo now expects to return full-year organic operating profit growth of eight per cent, an increase of one percentage point from the previous estimate.
But while the group experienced strong gales growth in the Americas and Asia, returns in Europe were flat.
UK-based Diageo said that continental sales for Guinness, Smirnoff Ice and Johnnie Walker whisky all fell.
Diageo chief executive Paul Walsh today admitted that sales in Britain, Ireland and Spain all suffered in the last six months.
But he went on to say: "In North America our continued out-performance in the US spirits market was the key driver of the 11 per cent organic operating profit growth we delivered.
"Operating leverage from price and mix improvements in beer, wine and ready to drink also contributed to the margin expansion we achieved."
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