Two of Northern Ireland’s biggest drinks companies have seen their profits fall as costs rise.

Operating costs at Diageo Northern Ireland jumped to £73m (up 25%0 while Tennent’s NI saw costs rise by 18% to £48.2m.

According to accounts filed at Companies House for Belfast-based Diageo Northern Ireland, for the year ending June 2023, pre-tax profits dropped by 65% to £2.4m.

A year earlier, the company had reported a surge of over 50% in pre-tax profits, but rising costs have reversed its fortunes, despite turnover increasing by 6% to £180m.

Beer sales for the company, which boasts a portfolio including brands such as Guinness, Harp and Smithwick’s, were strong in the year to June 2023, rising from £114.5m to £122.5m.

Last year it was announced that a pint of Guinness could go up by as much as 40p after the firm announced price increases for customers.

Diageo NI, which also has Baileys in its portfolio, saw spirits sales grow from £54.7m to £57.5m during the year. Employee numbers were up from 119 to 131 during the year, but wage costs were down from £7m to £6.6m.

Diageo NI’s employees are based across its three sites in the province — a beer packaging plant in east Belfast, its corporate headquarters in Belfast city centre and the Baileys global supply facility in Mallusk.

Last year it was also announced that Diageo had won planning permission for a £26m extension of its Baileys site.

The company said the approval would improve its logistics and warehousing facilities on the site, which produces over 60 million bottles of Baileys a year for export to 150 countries.

Diageo NI also revealed it would pump £24.5m into the regeneration of its east Belfast packaging facility.

The firm, which is overseen by Diageo Ireland managing director Barry O’Sullivan, declared a dividend of £6.5m during the year.

But directors’ remuneration, including pension contributions took a hit, dropping from £455,000 to £212,000.

Meanwhile, the salary of the highest paid director was also down from £310,000 to £126,000.

Tennent’s NI, which is behind the manufacturing and distribution of Tennent’s, Heverlee, Clonmel and Magners Irish Cider, was also affected by rising costs.

Despite turnover increasing by 16% to £61.5m during the year ending February 2023, the company saw pre-tax profits dip by 38% to £3.2m.

According to the accounts, which have just been published at Companies House, operating costs rose by 18% to £48.2m during the year.

But the business saw turnover from sales of beer and cider increase from £52.6m to £61.5m.

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Research to coincide with freshers fortnight found that you can buy a pint of Carling in the students’ union at QUB for just £2.80.

And the poll by printer ink supplier TonerGiant puts Queen’s joint top of a UK league table with Durham University and Imperial College London.

It comes as the average pint of beer in a pub in Belfast will set you back anything from £4.50 to £6.50.

And for most, the cheapest beer was Carling, which is part of the Molson Coors stable, whose other brands include Coors, Pravha, Blue Moon and Madri Exceptional.

The University of Exeter comes after Belfast, Durham and Imperial with a pint of Carlsberg setting you back £2.95.

It’s £3 at Newcastle University, University College London, University of Warwick and University of Sussex, while the most expensive students’ union pint can be found at The Orator, Cambridge University’s Student Unions Bar, where punters pay a fiver.

“As students prepare for the new term, it’s important to plan ahead to ensure they’re saving money where you can. If you’re looking for toner or ink cartridges for your printer, ensure to browse the best deals to get the cheapest option available.”

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The world’s largest brewer, AB InBev said that North American revenues slumped 10.5 per cent in the three months to June 30, with sales to retailers and wholesalers down 14 per cent and 15 per cent respectively “primarily due to the volume decline of Bud Light”.

AB InBev has been hit by a backlash among right wing Americans against the Bud Light brand since April after transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney promoted the beer on social media.

Bud Light lost its spot as the top-selling US beer as a result, with Constellation Brands’ Mexican lager Modelo Especial overtaking it to take pole position in June.

AB InBev said the impact saw its total share of the US beer market fall over the quarter.

But it added: “Since April, we actively engaged with over 170 000 consumers across the country through a third-party research firm and the data shows that most consumers surveyed are favourable towards the Bud Light brand and approximately 80 per cent are favourable or neutral.”

Overall, AB InBev, which also makes Corona and Leffe, offset the Bud Light hit to its US arm to increase second quarter revenues by 7.2 per cent thanks to price rises and a switch to premium tipples.

This helped counter a 1.4 per cent fall in sales by volume across the group, weighed on by the US Bud Light boycott.

Pre-tax profits rose 3.5 per cent to $3.8 billion (£3 billion) for the first half of 2023, up from $.7 billion (£2.9 billion) a year earlier.

Across Europe and including the UK, it said half-year sales by volume fell by “low single digits” but pricing and trend for trading-up to more expensive brands helped drive double-digit revenues growth.

It said “premium and super premium brands delivered double-digit revenue growth this quarter, led by Corona and Budweiser”.

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Some 14.6% of jobs in the area pay less than the real Living Wage – around 178,000 jobs – yet despite this, Bullhouse has committed to pay the real Living Wage and deliver a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work.

The real Living Wage is the only rate calculated according to the costs of living. It provides a voluntary benchmark for employers that wish to ensure their staff earn a wage they can live on, not just the government minimum. Since 2011 the Living Wage movement has delivered a pay rise to over 450,000 people and put over £2 billion extra into the pockets of low paid workers.

William Mayne, Managing Director, Bullhouse East said: “We’ve been paying the living wage since we opened, however becoming an accredited Living Wage employer marks an exciting milestone for Bullhouse as we look to affirm our commitment to our fantastic team.

“Paying the Living Wage is an investment we have been incredibly proud to make, alongside our other initiatives such as staff discounts, regular free staff socials, enhanced holiday pay, subsidised food and drink and free locally roasted coffee. We believe that a team with good compensation and working conditions is in a better position to provide a great experience to our customers.”

Katherine Chapman, Director, Living Wage Foundation said: “We’re delighted that Bullhouse East has joined the movement of over 12,000 responsible employers across the UK who voluntarily commit to go further than the government minimum to make sure all their staff earn enough to live on.

“They join thousands of small businesses, as well as household names such as IKEA, Barclays, Everton Football Club and many more. These businesses recognise that paying the real Living Wage is the mark of a responsible employer and they, like Bullhouse East, believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay.”

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After opening a restaurant in 2015, the owners saw an opportunity for an adjacent Taproom to diversify the business’ offering for customers.

And last year the gastro-pub worked with Johnston Financial Solutions to secure £50,000 of alternative funding which enabled the bespoke space to open.

The Taproom has allowed Walled City Brewery to provide an alternative bar for wedding, private parties and other functions, host tasting experiences from its new gin school, and it has also created a bigger brewery space which increases brewing capacity and provides opportunities for tours.

It has also secured a ‘producers’ liquor licence, which means that the only alcoholic drinks that are served are the ones produced on site.

Mark Johnston, above right, director of Johnston Financial Solutions, said: “We were approached by James Huey and Walled City Brewery to help unlock additional funds that were required to launch and open the Taproom.

“They had received a grant, but had a shortfall in funds which was required to make their dream – which had been seven years in the making – a reality.

“We explored and secured an alternative funding option, and the Taproom opened last September. We were delighted to support Walled City Brewery with the opening of this venture, which is fantastic for Ebrington Square, the city and its customers – and to see the positive results for their business.”

Co-founder James Huey, above left, said “Securing the additional finance was key to the opening of the Taproom, and we found the whole experience of working with Mark seamless and positive.

“The Taproom has really cemented what we want to do as a company and the foundations of our business. We believe it has helped make the business a lot more healthy and profitable and we are excited for our future.”

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