Diageo full-year sales plunge as demand in bars, restaurants dries up

Diageo Plc, the world's largest spirits maker, took a 1.3 billion pound writedown as it reported a bigger than expected decline in underlying net sales on Tuesday as demand for its whisky, vodka and gin fell in nearly all markets.

The Johnnie Walker whisky maker took the 1.3 billion pound non-cash writedown related to its businesses in India, Nigeria, Ethiopia and the Windsor whisky brand in South Korea, blaming challenging trading conditions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Tuesday, the company reported an 8.4% drop in organic sales for the year ended June 30, larger than the 7.3% fall analysts had expected,