Alcohol saw big sales spikes during the pandemic, when panic buying particularly pushed spirits sales ahead.

But times have changed, alongside consumer buying behaviour.

This is an uncertain backdrop for drinks group Diageo, which produces some of the world’s best-known spirits brands, including Smirnoff vodka, Johnnie Walker whisky and Tanqueray gin.

Luckily for Diageo, it also has a very well-known beer brand – Guinness.

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This has proved something of a lifesaver, at a time when consumers are tightening their belts.

“[Guinness] is a high quality premium drink, but it's still actually very affordable,” Diageo’s president of global supply and procurement, Ewan Andrew, explained to The Herald in a call.

“I think the average price of a Guinness is around £5. Its top three markets are Great Britain, Ireland and the United States – and they've all been in double-digit growth. Great Britain in particular has seen 30% growth in net sales in these results.”

This strong performance by ‘the black stuff,’ as it’s sometimes fondly known, has taken a bit of the sting out of otherwise weak global results for Diageo.

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A big hangover has been overstocking in Latin America and the Caribbean, where sales have now dropped more than 21% as consumers switch to cheaper drinks and local spirits.

Analysts weren’t impressed by Diageo’s worse-than-expected 4.8% fall in full-year operating profits to $6 billion and 0.6% decline in sales to $20.3bn. But they were comforted by the breadth of the group’s product portfolio and strong cash position.

Aarin Chiekrie, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said both sales and profits at Diageo were “heading in the wrong direction.”

But he added: “Taking a step back, investors should remember that Diageo has a world-class portfolio of brands, including Guinness, Smirnoff, Johnny Walker, and Tanqueray. That’s helped Diageo hold or grow its market share in over 75% of the regions it operates in, despite the current challenges for the wider industry.”

While there remains some short-term uncertainty in the drinks market, Diageo’s cash flows remain extremely healthy, Mr Chiekrie added.

Investors in particular would be pleased with the recommendation to increase the full year dividend by 5% to 103.48 cents per share.