Diageo posts higher earnings; names ex-Xerox chief to board

Helped in part by strong North American sales, adult beverage behemoth Diageo PLC reported improved earnings for the fiscal year ended June 30.

The maker of Johnnie Walker whisky, Guinness beer and Smirnoff vodka reported its operating profit, excluding one-time items, climbed 20 percent to $4.73 billion. On an organic basis, which strips out currency movements and acquisitions, net sales were up 4 percent from $13.73 billion to $15.77 billion.

The London-based company, whose North American headquarters are in Norwalk, reported a net profit of $3.48 billion for the year compared with $2.93 billion a year earlier, on net sales that rose 15 percent to $15.77 billion. In North America, its largest and most profitable market, organic sales were up 3 percent from a year ago; beer volume dropped 1 percent as Americans continued to show a preference for wine and spirits.

Diageo also announced that Ursula Burns, who chaired the board of Stamford-based Xerox from 2010 to 2017 and was its CEO from 2009 to 2016, will become a nonexecutive director effective April 2, 2018.

Last month the company announced it was acquiring George Clooney”™s high-end tequila brand Casamigos for up to $1 billion.