Half Year 2020 Diageo PLC Earnings Call (Q&A Session) Summary

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Laurence Bruce Whyatt - Barclays Bank PLC, Research Division - Analyst : In the U.S., you mentioned that your scotch business benefited from some trade loading ahead of the tariff impact. Because you said the scotch is up 4% but Johnnie Walker is down 5%, so single malts are being presumably loaded. Could you quantify how much of that plus 4% was trade loading and how much is sort of an underlying growth? without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. 'Thomson Reuters' and the Thomson Reuters logo are registered trademarks of Thomson Reuters and its affiliated companies. JANUARY 30, 2020 / 9:30AM, DGE.L - Half Year 2020 Diageo PLC Earnings Call (Q&A Session) And then secondly, on the 2 vodka brands, Smirnoff and Ceroc, the sales velocity has worsened a bit there. Could you give us some detail on what's happening in those brands and if there's anything you can do to try and improve that? And then finally, your margins have improved despite declines in gross margin and an increase in marketing. How can we be confident that the cost savings you're putting through aren't going to be affecting the business continuity?

Question: Laurence Bruce Whyatt - Barclays Bank PLC, Research Division - Analyst : And just to come back on the scotch from Ivan, you mentioned 30 basis points on the blended category. And as I understood it, the tariffs were on the single malts. Are you seeing no trade loading on the single malt then? without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. 'Thomson Reuters' and the Thomson Reuters logo are registered trademarks of Thomson Reuters and its affiliated companies. JANUARY 30, 2020 / 9:30AM, DGE.L - Half Year 2020 Diageo PLC Earnings Call (Q&A Session)