Guinness owner Diageo says economic weakness in Ireland and lower consumer spending has hit the alcohol industry with sales down 10% in the first six months of its financial year.
Diageo said that sales of its drinks sold though pubs were down 14%, but its market share in pubs grew, in both its spirits and beer brands.
Guinness also grew market share in both Ireland and the UK and it now has over 30% of the beer market in Ireland. It also saw sales jump by 21% in South East Asia, while African markets rose by 3%.
Meanwhile, Diageo, the world's biggest spirits group, said it was in the early stages of recovery when reporting a 5% rise in half-year earnings and keeping its profit growth target for the year.
The maker of Smirnoff vodka and Johnnie Walker whisky posted underlying earnings for the half year to the end of December of 44.2 pence a share, below a consensus of 46.2 pence. The interim dividend was raised 5% to 14.6 pence.
'We are in the early stages of recovery with more encouraging signs in the emerging and developing markets,' CEO Paul Walsh said.
The group's annual underlying sales were down 2%, while operating profit was off 3%.
Diageo and arch rival Pernod Ricard suffered from the global downturn and big destocking in the US in early 2009, but are now both looking to benefit from the first signs of recovery.
Diageo reiterated its target for a low single digit percentage rise in operating profit for the year to June 2010, after last month Pernod repeated its similar target for 1-3% growth in underlying annual profit.
