Diageo Ireland has said sales of Guinness in Ireland were flat in the year to the end of June in a declining market.
The company said Guinness increased its share of the pub market in the Republic by 1.3 points to 32.2%. Diageo Ireland quoted figures from the Revenue as showing that the volume of alcohol sales has fallen by more than 9% so far this year. It also said growth in the off-licence market had stalled, with a 3% decline in the value of sales in the 12 months.
Earlier, parent company Diageo, the world's biggest spirits group, met forecasts with a 10% rise in annual earnings but cut its profit target for this year due to concerns about the strength of any recovery.
The maker of Smirnoff vodka, Johnnie Walker whisky and Guinness posted basic earnings for the year to the end of June of 65.2 pence a share compared to a range of 57.6 to 72.6 pence.
The drinks group saw annual underlying sales flat, but the weak pound and cost cutting pushed operating profit up 4%.
'While the global economy appears to be stabilising, there is still uncertainty as to the sustainability and pace of any recovery and the current year will be challenging, as we lap a strong first quarter and a reasonable first-half performance this year,' said CEO Paul Walsh.
'That being recognised, we expect to deliver low single-digit organic operating profit growth in fiscal 2010,' he said.
Diageo has seen sales growth shudder to a halt then tip downwards over the year as the downturn hit drinkers in countries such as Spain, Ireland, and Russia, while profit growth slowed as consumers turned to cheaper drinks.
