{"id":3701,"date":"2017-01-30T10:57:38","date_gmt":"2017-01-30T10:57:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.licensedandcateringnews.com\/?p=3701"},"modified":"2021-03-06T12:54:27","modified_gmt":"2021-03-06T12:54:27","slug":"back-on-the-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lcnonline.co.uk\/back-on-the-rise\/","title":{"rendered":"Back on the rise"},"content":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s been an encouraging year for drinks giant, Diageo and while there may well be uncertainty ahead, Jorge Lopes is keeping a customary cool head\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n Now valued at more than $60bn, Diageo is the largest drinks company in the world by some way.<\/p>\n Preliminary results for the year ending June 2016 reflect a volume growth of 1.3 per cent, net sales growth of 2.8 per cent and a growth of 3.5 per cent in operating profit.<\/p>\n The company\u2019s chief executive, Ivan Menezes said recently that Diageo\u2019s improving performance reflected the additional work that had been done in marketing and innovation and the ongoing expansion of distribution networks:<\/p>\n \u201cOur six global brands and our US spirits business are all back in growth and we have seen a significant improvement in the performance of our scotch and beer portfolios,\u201d he added. \u201cThe delivery of volume growth; organic margin expansion; increased free cash flow and the disposal of \u00a31bn in non-core assets comes from an everyday focus on efficiency in each aspect of our business. We have also made significant progress this year in our aim to improve the role of alcohol in society, partner with our communities and reduce our environmental impact.\u201d<\/p>\n Analysts now say that the potential for long-term capital and dividend growth at Diageo is excellent \u2013 if you have shares in this company, you should probably hold onto them.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a good place to be for Jorge Lopes, Diageo\u2019s Brazilian-born country director in Northern Ireland. The drinks giant\u2019s operations in Ireland have always been insulated to an extent from the most pronounced peaks and troughs of the global markets. That said, when Jorge arrived here late in 2013, he faced a market still dealing with the aftershocks of severe recession and a poorer-than-expected performance in domestic beer sales.<\/p>\n What was noticeable then, however, was his level-headed approach. When Jorge spoke to LCN in late 2013, he didn\u2019t deny the difficulties that the brand was facing, but emphasised its strong performance locally throughout December of that year and spoke enthusiastically about his plans for a new approach to business development in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n Jorge spoke with LCN again in December 2016 when he indicated that the position locally has been steadily improving, particularly over the last year or so:<\/p>\n \u201cThe summer was brilliant for us,\u201d he reported. \u201cWe had the Euros in France, sponsored by Carlsberg and with Northern Ireland doing so well, it created a lot of excitement on the back of an amazing execution of the campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cAlso memorable was the 2016 Guinness series [rugby], particularly the first match when Ireland beat New Zealand in Chicago for the first time ever. The excitement around that was incredible and it really helped to drive the success of the series for us,\u201d says Jorge.<\/p>\n Here in Northern Ireland, Diageo employs more than 300 people and operates from three sites \u2013 its Baileys manufacturing facility at Mallusk, which accounts for around 80 per cent of the of the worldwide demand for the liqueur; its canning and packaging plant at Marshall\u2019s Road in Belfast and its corporate headquarters at Capital House in Belfast city centre.<\/p>\n Sales and administrative staff moved to the new HQ from their long-standing base at Boucher Road in 2014, signalling in a very tangible way an intention to streamline and modernise the way in which the brand conducted its business locally:<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a modern, 21st<\/sup> century facility and so all the ways in which we used to do business have now changed,\u201d says Jorge. \u201cBoucher Road was full of small rooms, you never saw people, now the whole team works together and that makes us think about things differently and much more in line with where this company needs to be. It fits our ambition and that can only be good.\u201d<\/p>\n