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Spirits giant Diageo saw sales soar last year as more consumers turned to making cocktails at home during the pandemic, the company has reported.

The world's largest distiller of Scotch said overall annual operating profit rose by 18% to nearly £4.4bn in the year to June.

Revenues from Diageo's Scotch brands, which represent nearly a quarter of its sales, climbed by 29%.

Johnnie Walker sales were up more than a third, exceeding 21 million cases.

Diageo reported an overall 21% increase in sales, with particularly strong growth in Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia, while its performance at airports picked up from low levels during the pandemic shutdown of travel.

The growth came despite disruption to shipping and supply chains.

Diageo, whose premium products include Smirnoff, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Tanqueray and Guinness, said sales growth was broad-based across categories and regions.

'Inner mixology'

Global supply chain and procurement president Ewan Andrew said: "We know that people during the pandemic, in particular, discovered their inner mixologist.

"They were getting used to drinking spirits at home and as the on-licensed premises - the bars, restaurants, the festivals - have come back, some of those trends have stuck and we continue to see it."

Mr Andrew said the company remained confident about its future performance, despite the threat of a global recession and rising raw material costs.

He said: "We are used to managing issues at any given time.

"That broad-based performance that you see, there will always be some ups and downs, but we are confident with the investments we are making behind our brands and with the investments we are making in our visitor experiences too."