Diageo sales to top £10bn

Guinness stout-to-Veuve Clicquot champagne producer Diageo will
announce that revenue has broken the £10bn mark in its annual
results this week.

Last year, Diageo fell just short of £10bn, but with rapid growth in emerging markets and Americans enjoying its spirits, sales growth will be around 8 per cent. Operating profit before exceptional, one-off costs, should be more than £3.1bn against nearly £2.3bn last year.

Analysts at Oriel Securities argued that the group's strength in countries that are already drowning in beer, tequila and whisky is impressive. In a note, Oriel said: "This ability to grow the core business in mature markets, where margins are predictably strong and currencies typically more stable, remains a salient attraction [to buy Diageo stock]."

Also reporting next week is commodities giant Glencore. Investors and analysts will be hoping for an update on its proposed megamerger with mining group Xstrata.