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Alocholic drinks maker Diageo reported a rise in profit as strong demand in its off-trade business and recovery in on-trade bolstered results.
For the six months ended 31 December 2021, pre-tax prfoit rose to £2.72 billion from £2.2 billion year-on-year as revenue increased 10% to £11.75 billion.
The interim dividend was increased by 5% to 29.36 pence per share.
'During the half, we also returned £0.5 billion to shareholders via share buybacks and we are accelerating the timeline of our return of capital programme of up to £4.5 billion to now be completed during fiscal 2023,' the company said.
Looking ahead, the company said it had made a 'strong' start to fiscal 2022.
'While we expect near-term volatility to remain, including potential impacts from Covid-19, global supply chain constraints and rising cost inflation, I am confident in our ability to successfully navigate these disruptions through the remainder of the year.'