Table of Contents

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 6-K

Report of Foreign Private Issuer

Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

6 February 2013

Commission File Number 1-10691

DIAGEO plc

(Translation of registrant’s name into English)

Lakeside Drive, Park Royal, London NW10 7HQ, England

(Address of principal executive offices)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): o

This report on Form 6-K shall be deemed to be filed and incorporated by reference in the registration statements on Form F-3 (File No. 333-110804, 333-132732, 333-153488 and 333-179426) and registration statements on Form S-8 (File Nos. 333-169934, 333-162490, 333-153481, 333-154338 and 333-182315) and to be a part thereof from the date on which this report is furnished, to the extent not superseded by documents or reports subsequently filed or furnished.

Table of Contents

INDEX TO FORM 6-K

2

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

Diageo plc is a public limited company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales. As used herein, except as the context otherwise requires, the term ‘company’ refers to Diageo plc and the terms ‘group’ and ‘Diageo’ refer to the company and its consolidated subsidiaries. References used herein to ‘shares’ and ‘ordinary shares’ are, except where otherwise specified, to Diageo plc’s ordinary shares.

Presentation of financial information

Diageo plc’s fiscal year ends on 30 June. The company publishes its consolidated financial statements in pounds sterling. In this document, references to ‘pounds sterling’, ‘sterling’, ‘£’, ‘pence’ or ‘p’ are to UK currency, references to ‘US dollars’, ‘US$’, ‘$’ or ‘¢’ are to US currency and references to the ‘euro’ or ‘€’ are to the euro currency. For the convenience of the reader, this document contains translations of certain pounds sterling amounts into US dollars at specified rates, or, if not so specified, the noon buying rate in New York City for cable transfers in pounds sterling as certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (the ‘noon buying rate’) on 31 December 2012 of £1 = $1.63. No representation is made that the pounds sterling amounts have been, could have been or could be converted into US dollars at the rates indicated or at any other rates.

Diageo’s condensed consolidated financial information is prepared in accordance with IAS 34 ‘Interim Financial Reporting’ as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and adopted for use in the European Union.  This interim condensed consolidated financial information is unaudited and has been prepared on the basis of accounting policies consistent with those applied in the consolidated financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2012.

The business review, selected consolidated financial data and financial information included in this document for the six month periods ended 31 December 2012 and 31 December 2011 have been derived from the published Diageo interim condensed consolidated financial information.

The principal executive office of the company is located at Lakeside Drive, Park Royal, London NW10 7HQ, England and its telephone number is +44 (0)20 8978 6000.

Trademarks, trade names and market data

This report on Form 6-K includes names of Diageo’s products which constitute trademarks or trade names which Diageo owns, or which others own and license to Diageo for use. All rights reserved. © Diageo plc 2013.

The market data and competitive set classifications are taken from independent industry sources in the markets in which Diageo operates.

3

Table of Contents

Cautionary statement concerning forward-looking statements

This document contains ‘forward-looking’ statements. These statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current facts. In particular, forward-looking statements include all statements that express forecasts, expectations, plans, outlook and projections with respect to future matters, including trends in results of operations, margins, growth rates, overall market trends, the impact of changes in interest or exchange rates, the availability or cost of financing to Diageo, anticipated cost savings or synergies, expected investments, the completion of Diageo’s strategic transactions and restructuring programmes, anticipated tax rates, expected cash payments, outcomes of litigation, anticipated deficit reductions in relation to pension schemes and general economic conditions. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including factors that are outside Diageo’s control.

These factors include, but are not limited to:

·                  global and regional economic downturns;

·                  increased competitive product and pricing pressures and unanticipated actions by competitors that could impact Diageo’s market share, increase expenses and hinder growth potential;

·                  the effects of Diageo’s strategic focus on premium drinks, the effects of business combinations, partnerships, acquisitions or disposals, existing or future, and the ability to realise expected synergies and/or costs savings;

·                  Diageo’s ability to complete existing or future business combinations, restructuring programmes, acquisitions and disposals;

·                  legal and regulatory developments, including changes in regulations regarding production, product liability, distribution, importation, labelling, packaging, consumption or advertising; changes in tax law, rates or requirements (including with respect to the impact of excise tax increases) or accounting standards; and changes in environmental laws, health regulations and the laws governing labour and pensions;

·                  the costs associated with monitoring and maintaining compliance with anti-corruption and other laws and regulations, and the costs associated with investigating alleged breaches of internal policies, laws or regulations, whether initiated internally or by external regulators and any penalties or fines imposed as a result of any breaches;

·                  developments in any litigation or other similar proceedings (including with tax, customs and other regulatory authorities) directed at the drinks and spirits industry generally or at Diageo in particular, or the impact of a product recall or product liability claim on Diageo’s profitability or reputation;

·                 developments in the Colombian litigation, Korean customs dispute, thalidomide litigation or any similar proceedings;

·                  changes in consumer preferences and tastes, demographic trends or perceptions about health related issues, or contamination, counterfeiting or other circumstances which could harm the integrity or sales of Diageo’s brands;

·                  changes in the cost or supply of raw materials, labour, energy and/or water;

·                  changes in political or economic conditions in countries and markets in which Diageo operates, including changes in levels of consumer spending, failure of customer, supplier and financial counterparties or imposition of import, investment or currency restrictions;

·                  levels of marketing, promotional and innovation expenditure by Diageo and its competitors;

·                  renewal of supply, distribution, manufacturing or licence agreements (or related rights) and licenses on favourable terms when they expire;

·                  termination of or failure to renegotiate existing distribution or licence manufacturing rights on agency brands;

·                  disruption to production facilities or business service centres, and systems change programmes, existing or future, and the ability to derive expected benefits from such programmes;

·                  technological developments that may affect the distribution of products or impede Diageo’s ability to protect its intellectual property rights; and

·                  changes in financial and equity markets, including significant interest rate and foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations and changes in the cost of capital, which may reduce or eliminate Diageo’s access to or increase the cost of financing or which may affect Diageo’s financial results and movements to the value of Diageo’s pension funds.

All oral and written forward-looking statements made on or after the date of this document and attributable to Diageo are expressly qualified in their entirety by the above factors and the ‘Risk factors’ contained in the annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended 30 June 2012 filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of Diageo speak only as of the date they are made. Diageo does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect any changes in Diageo’s expectations with regard thereto or any changes in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. The reader should, however, consult any additional disclosures that Diageo may make in any documents which it publishes and/or files with the SEC. All readers, wherever located, should take note of these disclosures.

The information in this document does not constitute an offer to sell or an invitation to buy shares in Diageo plc or an invitation or inducement to engage in any other investment activities.

This document includes information about Diageo’s target debt rating. A security rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities and may be subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating organisation. Each rating should be evaluated independently of any other rating.

Past performance cannot be relied upon as a guide to future performance.

The contents of the company’s website (www.diageo.com) should not be considered to form a part of or be incorporated into this document.

4

Table of Contents

SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

The selected consolidated financial data set out below has been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and adopted for use in the European Union and should be read in conjunction with, and are qualified in their entirety by reference to, the unaudited financial information and notes presented elsewhere in this document and to Diageo’s annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended 30 June 2012.

The following table presents selected consolidated financial data for Diageo: for the six month periods ended 31 December 2012 and 31 December 2011 and as at the respective period ends, derived from the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial information presented elsewhere in this document; and for the five years ended 30 June 2012 and as at the respective year ends, derived from Diageo’s consolidated financial statements audited by Diageo’s independent auditor. The unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial information, in the opinion of Diageo management, includes all adjustments, consisting solely of normal, recurring adjustments, necessary to present fairly the information contained therein. The results of operations for the six month period ended 31 December 2012 are not necessarily indicative of the results for the year ending 30 June 2013.

This information should be read in conjunction with the notes on pages 6 to 7.

5

Table of Contents

Notes to the selected consolidated financial data

(1) IFRS accounting policies The unaudited condensed consolidated financial information for the six months ended 31 December 2012 has been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 ‘Interim Financial Reporting’ as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and adopted for use in the European Union.

(2) Exceptional items Exceptional items are charges or credits which, in management’s judgement, need to be disclosed by virtue of their size or incidence in order for the user to obtain a proper understanding of the financial information. Such items are included within the income statement caption to which they relate. An analysis of exceptional items is as follows:

(3) Discontinued operations No operations are classified as discontinued in the six months ended 31 December 2012. Discontinued operations for the year ended 30 June 2012 represent a charge after taxation of £11 million (2011 – £nil; 2010 – £19 million) in respect of the discounted value of anticipated future payments to additional thalidomide claimants. In the years ended 30 June 2009 and 30 June 2008 discontinued operations are in respect of the packaged food business (Pillsbury sold 31 October 2001).

(4) Dividends The board expects that Diageo will pay an interim dividend in April and a final dividend in October of each year. Approximately 40% of the total dividend in respect of any financial year is expected to be paid as an interim dividend and approximately 60% as a final dividend. The payment of any future dividends, subject to shareholder approval, will depend upon Diageo’s earnings, financial condition and such other factors as the board deems relevant. Proposed dividends are not considered to be a liability until they are approved by the board for the interim dividend and by the shareholders at the annual general meeting for the final dividend.

6

Table of Contents

The table below sets out the amounts of interim, final and total cash dividends paid by the company on each ordinary share. The dividends are translated into US dollars per ADS (each ADS representing four ordinary shares) at the noon buying rate on each of the respective dividend payment dates.

Note: The interim dividend for the six months ended 31 December 2012 will be paid on 8 April 2013, and payment to US ADR holders will be made on 12 April 2013. In the table above, an exchange rate of £1 = 1.57 has been assumed for this dividend, but the exact amount of the payment to US ADR holders will be determined by the rate of exchange on 8 April 2013.

(5) Net borrowings definition Net borrowings are defined as gross borrowings (the aggregate of short term borrowings, long term borrowings, finance lease liabilities, interest rate hedging instruments, cross currency interest rate swaps and funding foreign currency swaps and forwards used to manage borrowings) less cash and cash equivalents and other liquid resources.

(6) Share capital During the year ended 30 June 2009 the company purchased 38 million (2008 – 97 million) ordinary shares for cancellation or to be held as treasury shares at a cost of £354 million (2008 – £1,008 million) as part of a share buyback programme.

(7) Exchange rates A substantial portion of the group’s assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses is denominated in currencies other than pounds sterling. For the convenience of the reader, selected consolidated financial information for the six months ended 31 December 2012 has been translated into US dollars at the noon buying rate on 31 December 2012 of £1 = $1.63.

The following table shows period end and average US dollar/pounds sterling noon buying exchange rates, expressed in US dollars per £1.

The average exchange rate for the period 1 January to 1 February 2013 was £1=$1.60 and the noon buying rate on 1 February 2013 was £1=$1.57.

(a) The average of the noon buying rates on the last business day of each month during the six months periods ended 31 December and during the years ended 30 June.

(b) These rates have been provided for information only. They are not necessarily the rates that have been used in this document for currency translations or in the preparation of the consolidated financial information. See note 2 to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial information for the actual rates used in the preparation of the consolidated financial information.

7

Table of Contents

CAPITALISATION AND INDEBTEDNESS

The following table sets out on an IFRS basis the unaudited capitalisation of Diageo as at 31 December 2012:

Notes

(1)                                 At 31 December 2012, the group had cash and cash equivalents of £708 million.

(2)                                 At 31 December 2012, 2,754,146,241 ordinary shares of 28 101/108 pence each were issued, all of which were fully paid, including shares issued, shares issued and held in employee share trusts and those held as treasury shares.

(3)                                 Except as disclosed in Diageo’s annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended 30 June 2012, as of 31 December 2012 the group has no material performance guarantees or indemnities to third parties.

(4)                                 Since 31 December 2012 no shares have been acquired by Diageo as part of the share buyback programs or to be held as treasury shares for hedging share scheme grant provided to employees.

(5)                                 On 9 November 2012, Diageo announced agreements to acquire a 27.4% equity interest through a preferential allotment and various share purchases in United Spirits Limited (USL), the leading spirits company in India. These agreements trigger an obligation on Diageo to launch a mandatory tender offer to the public shareholders of USL which, if fully subscribed, would result in Diageo acquiring an additional 26% equity interest in USL. If all these transactions are completed Diageo will own 53.4% of the enlarged share capital of USL at an aggregate cost of INR111,665 million (approximately £1,285 million). The transaction elements are subject to a number of conditions, including release of security over the USL shares being acquired and receipt of various mandatory regulatory approvals.

(6)                                 There has been no material change since 31 December 2012 in the group’s net borrowings, performance guarantees, indemnities and capitalisation.

8

Table of Contents

BUSINESS REVIEW

Information presented

Diageo is the world’s leading premium drinks business and operates on an international scale selling all types of beverage alcohol. It is one of a small number of premium drinks companies that operate globally across spirits, beer and wine.

The following discussion is based on Diageo’s results for the six months ended 31 December 2012 compared with the six months ended 31 December 2011.

The unaudited condensed consolidated financial information for the six months ended 31 December 2012 has been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 ‘Interim Financial Reporting’ as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and adopted for use in the European Union.

Segmental information

Diageo presents segmental information for the manufacture, distribution and selling of premium drinks in operating segments based on the geographical location of third party customers. The information presented is consistent with management reporting provided to the chief operating decision maker, which has been identified as the executive committee.

The executive committee considers the business principally from a geographical perspective and the business analysis is presented under the operating segments of North America, Europe, Africa, Latin America and Caribbean and Asia Pacific.

In the management accounts changes have been made in respect of the allocation of specific corporate items and the allocation of the operating profit before exceptional items of Global Supply to better reflect the geographical segment to which the cost relates. In addition, certain transaction exchange differences, previously included in Corporate, have been allocated to the geographical segments to better reflect which geographical segment the item is in respect of. As a consequence of these allocations the operating profit before exceptional items and marketing spend by geographical segments for prior periods have been amended and the organic growth calculations updated. Revised segmental information for the six months ended 31 December 2011 has been provided with a reconciliation to the figures previously reported on page 17.

For the second half of the financial year ending 30 June 2013, Diageo will change its internal reporting structure to reflect changes made to management responsibilities announced on 9 November 2012. As a result of this change, Diageo will report the following geographical segments both for management reporting purposes and in the external financial statements in the second half of the 2013 financial year: North America; Western Europe; Africa, Eastern Europe and Turkey; Latin America and Caribbean; Asia Pacific and Corporate. All comparative periods will be restated.

In the discussion of the performance of the business, net sales, which is defined as sales after deducting excise duties, are presented in addition to sales, since sales reflect significant components of excise duties which are set by external regulators and over which Diageo has no control. Diageo incurs excise duties throughout the world. In some countries, excise duties are based on sales and are separately identified on the face of the invoice to the external customer. In others, it is effectively a production tax, which is incurred when the spirit is removed from bonded warehouses. In these countries it is part of the cost of goods sold and is not separately identified on the sales invoice. Changes in the level of excise duties can significantly affect the level of reported sales and cost of sales, without directly reflecting changes in volume, mix or profitability that are the variables which impact on the element of sales retained by the group.

The underlying performance on a constant currency basis and excluding the impact of exceptional items, acquisitions and disposals is referred to as ‘organic’ performance, and further information on the calculation of organic measures as used in the discussion of the business is included in the organic movements calculation and in the notes to that calculation.

Presentation of information in relation to the business

In addition to describing the significant factors affecting the income statement compared to the prior period for the six months ended 31 December 2012, additional information is also presented on the operating performance and cash flows of the group.

There are several principal financial key performance indicators not specifically used in the consolidated financial statements themselves (non-GAAP measures) used by the group’s management to assess the performance of the group in addition to income statement measures of performance. These are volume, the organic movements in volume, sales, net sales, marketing spend, operating profit, operating margin and free cash flow. These key performance indicators are described below:

Volume is a non-GAAP measure that has been measured on an equivalent units basis to nine-litre cases of spirits. An equivalent unit represents one nine-litre case of spirits, which is approximately 272 servings. A serving comprises 33ml of spirits, 165ml of wine, or 330ml of ready to drink or beer. Therefore, to convert volume of products, other than spirits, to equivalent units, the following guide has been used: beer in hectolitres divide by 0.9, wine in nine-litre cases divide by five, ready to drink in nine-litre cases divide by 10 and certain pre-mixed products that are classified as ready to drink in nine-litre cases divide by five.

9

Table of Contents

Organic movements in volume, sales, net sales, marketing spend, operating profit and operating margin are non-GAAP measures. The performance of the group is discussed using these measures.

In the discussion of the performance of the business, organic information is presented using pounds sterling amounts on a constant currency basis. This retranslates prior period reported numbers at current period exchange rates and enables an understanding of the underlying performance of the market that is most closely influenced by the actions of that market’s management. The risk from exchange rate movements is managed centrally and is not a factor over which local managers have any control. Residual exchange impacts are reported within Corporate.

Acquisitions, disposals and exceptional items also impact the reported performance and therefore the reported movement in any period in which they arise. Management adjusts for the impact of such transactions in assessing the performance of the underlying business.

The underlying performance on a constant currency basis and excluding the impact of exceptional items, acquisitions and disposals is referred to as ‘organic’ performance. Organic movement calculations enable the reader to focus on the performance of the business which is common to both periods.

Diageo’s planning process is based on organic movements in volume, sales, net sales, marketing spend, operating profit and operating margin, and these measures closely reflect the way in which operating targets are defined and performance is monitored by the group’s management.

Organic operating margin is the ratio calculated by dividing organic operating profit by organic net sales expressed as a percentage.

These measures are chosen for planning, reporting and incentive purposes since they represent those measures which local managers are most directly able to influence and they enable consideration of the underlying business performance without the distortion caused by fluctuating exchange rates, exceptional items and acquisitions and disposals.

The group’s management believes these measures provide valuable additional information for users of the financial statements in understanding the group’s performance since they provide information on those elements of performance which local managers are most directly able to influence and they focus on that element of the core brand portfolio which is common to both periods. They should be viewed as complementary to, and not replacements for, the comparable GAAP measures and reported movements therein.

Free cash flow is a non-GAAP measure that comprises the net cash flow from operating activities aggregated with the net purchase and disposal of investments, property, plant and equipment and computer software that form part of net cash flow from investing activities. The group’s management believes the measure assists users of the financial statements in understanding the group’s cash generating performance as it comprises items which arise from the running of the ongoing business.

The remaining components of net cash flow from investing activities that do not form part of free cash flow, as defined by the group’s management, are in respect of the acquisition and sale of subsidiaries, associates and businesses. The group’s management regards the purchase and disposal of property, plant and equipment and computer software as ultimately non-discretionary since ongoing investment in plant, machinery and technology is required to support the day-to-day operations, whereas acquisitions and sale of businesses are discretionary. However, free cash flow does not necessarily reflect all amounts which the group has either a constructive or legal obligation to incur. Where appropriate, separate discussion is given for the impacts of acquisitions and sale of businesses, equity dividends paid and the purchase of own shares, each of which arises from decisions that are independent from the running of the ongoing underlying business.

The free cash flow measure is used by management for their own planning, reporting and incentive purposes since it provides information on those elements of performance which local managers are most directly able to influence.

Other definitions

Price/mix is the number of percentage points by which the organic movement in net sales exceeds the organic movement in volume. The difference arises because of changes in the composition of sales between higher and lower priced variants or as price changes are implemented.

Exceptional items are those which, in management’s judgement, need to be disclosed by virtue of their size or incidence in order for the user to obtain a proper understanding of the financial information. Such items are included within the income statement caption to which they relate.

10

Table of Contents

Volume share is a brand’s volume when compared to the volume of all brands in its segment. Value share is a brand’s retail sales when compared to the retail sales of all brands in its segment. Unless otherwise stated, share refers to value share. Share of voice is the media spend on a particular brand when compared to all brands in its segment. The share data, competitive set classifications and share of voice data contained in this document are taken from independent industry sources in the markets in which Diageo operates.

References to faster growing markets comprise Russia and Eastern Europe, Turkey, Africa, Latin America and Caribbean and Asia Pacific excluding Australia, Korea and Japan.

References to ready to drink also include ready to serve products, such as pre mix cans in some markets, and progressive adult beverages in the United States and certain markets supplied by the United States. References to beer include Guinness Malta, a non alcoholic malt based product.

References to reserve brands include Johnnie Walker Green Label, Johnnie Walker Gold Label 18 year old, Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve, Johnnie Walker Platinum Label 18 year old, Johnnie Walker Blue Label, John Walker & Sons Collection, Johnnie Walker Explorers Club Collection and other Johnnie Walker Super Deluxe brands, The Singleton, Cardhu, Talisker, Lagavulin and other Classic Malt brands, Buchanan’s Special Reserve, Buchanan’s Red Seal, Dimple 18 year old, Bulleit Bourbon, Tanqueray No. TEN, Cîroc, Ketel One vodka, Don Julio and Zacapa.

11

Table of Contents

Operating results for the six months ended 31 December 2012 compared with the six months ended 31 December 2011

Sales and net sales

On a reported basis, sales increased by £410 million from £7,825 million in the six months ended 31 December 2011 to £8,235 million in the six months ended 31 December 2012 and net sales increased by £282 million from £5,757 million in the six months ended 31 December 2011 to £6,039 million in the six months ended 31 December 2012. Exchange rate movements decreased reported sales by £184 million and reported net sales by £142 million. Acquisitions increased reported sales by £213 million and reported net sales by £134 million.

Operating costs before exceptional items

On a reported basis, operating costs before exceptional items increased by £119 million from £3,891 million in the six months ended 31 December 2011 to £4,010 million in the six months ended 31 December 2012 due to an increase in cost of sales of £92 million from £2,181 million to £2,273 million, an increase in marketing spend of £30 million from £896 million to £926 million, and a decrease in other operating expenses before exceptional costs of £3 million, from £814 million to £811 million. Exchange rate movements benefited total operating costs before exceptional items by £101 million.

Exceptional operating items

Net exceptional operating gain of £16 million for the six months ended 31 December 2012 (2011 – £24 million charge) comprised a gain of £20 million in respect of changes to future pension increases for the Guinness Ireland Group Pension Scheme (2011 – £nil) and a charge of £4 million for the restructuring of the group’s supply operations in Ireland (2011 – £24 million in respect of the operating model review and the restructuring of the group’s supply operations globally).

In the six months ended 31 December 2012 total restructuring cash expenditure was £34 million (2011 – £74 million). An exceptional charge of approximately £40 million is expected to be incurred in the year ending 30 June 2013 in respect of the restructuring of Global Supply operations, while cash expenditure for the year is expected to be approximately £70 million.

Post employment plans

The deficit in respect of post employment plans before taxation increased by £37 million from £1,085 million at 30 June 2012 to £1,122 million at 31 December 2012 primarily as a result of a decrease in the discount rate assumptions used to calculate the liabilities of the plans partly offset by an increase in the market value of the plan assets. Cash contributions to the group’s UK and Irish pension plans in the six months ended 31 December 2012 were £60 million (2011 – £67 million). The triennial valuation of the Diageo UK Pension Scheme was completed by the trustee in November 2012. It is expected that Diageo will make a cash contribution of £400 million in the six months ending 30 June 2013 to the Diageo UK Pension Scheme, in addition to the current annual service cost contribution of approximately £45 million and the profit share from the Pension Funding Partnership of £25 million.

12

Table of Contents

Operating profit

Reported operating profit for the six months ended 31 December 2012 increased by £203 million to £2,045 million from £1,842 million in the comparable prior period. Before exceptional operating items, operating profit for the six months ended 31 December 2012 increased by £163 million to £2,029 million from £1,866 million in the comparable prior period. Exchange rate movements decreased both operating profit and operating profit before exceptional items for the six months ended 31 December 2012 by £41 million. Acquisitions increased reported operating profit by £40 million.

Net finance charges

Net finance charges increased from £206 million in the six months ended 31 December 2011 to £212 million in the six months ended 31 December 2012.

Net interest charge increased by £9 million from £192 million in the comparable prior period to £201 million in the six months ended 31 December 2012. The effective interest rate was 4.9% (2011 – 4.7%) in the six months ended 31 December 2012 and average net borrowings decreased by £0.1 billion compared to the comparable prior period. For the calculation of effective interest rate, the net interest charge excludes fair value adjustments to derivative financial instruments and borrowings and average monthly net borrowings include the impact of interest rate swaps that are no longer in a hedge relationship but exclude the market value adjustment for cross currency interest rate swaps. The income statement interest cover was 10.7 times and cash interest cover was 8.6 times (2011 – 10.4 times and 8.8 times, respectively).

Net other finance charges for the six months ended 31 December 2012 were £11 million (2011 – £14 million). There was an increase of £8 million in finance charges in respect of post employment plans from an income of £3 million in the six months ended 31 December 2011 to a charge of £5 million in the six months ended 31 December 2012. Other finance charges also included £6 million (2011 – £7 million) in respect of unwinding of discounts on liabilities, a hyperinflation adjustment of £2 million (2011 – £8 million) in respect of the group’s Venezuela operations and £2 million income (2011 – £2 million charge) in respect of net exchange movements on certain financial instruments.

Associates

The group’s share of associates’ profits after interest and tax was £128 million for the six months ended 31 December 2012 compared to £122 million in the comparable prior period. Diageo’s 34% equity interest in Moët Hennessy contributed £132 million (2011 – £118 million) to share of associates’ profits after interest and tax.

Profit before taxation

Profit before taxation increased by £101 million from £1,860 million in the comparable prior period to £1,961 million in the six months ended 31 December 2012.

Taxation

The reported tax rate decreased from 45.2% in the six months ended 31 December 2011 to 18.4% in the six months ended 31 December 2012. During the six months ended 31 December 2011 tax authority negotiations were concluded resulting in a favourable change to the taxation basis of certain overseas profit and intangible assets which reduced the ongoing tax rate but resulted in the loss of future tax amortisation deductions giving rise to an exceptional write off of the related deferred tax assets of £524 million. The tax rate before exceptional items for the six months ended 31 December 2012 was 18.4% compared with 18.1% in the six months ended 31 December 2011. In the future it is expected that the tax rate before exceptional items will remain at approximately 18%.

13

Table of Contents

Exchange rate and other movements

Exchange rate movements are calculated by retranslating the prior period results as if they had been generated at the current period exchange rates. The difference is excluded from organic growth.

The estimated effect of exchange rate and other movements on profit before exceptional items and taxation for the six months ended 31 December 2012 was as follows:

For the year ending 30 June 2013 foreign exchange movements are estimated to negatively impact operating profit by about £20 million and are not expected to materially affect the net finance charge based on applying current exchange rates (£1 = $1.58; £1 = €1.17). This guidance excludes the impact of IAS 21 and IAS 39.

Dividend

An interim dividend of 18.10 pence per share will be paid to holders of ordinary shares and ADRs on the register on 1 March 2013. This represents an increase of 9% on last year’s interim dividend. The interim dividend will be paid to shareholders on 8 April 2013. Payment to US ADR holders will be made on 12 April 2013. A dividend reinvestment plan is available in respect of the interim dividend and the plan notice date is 13 March 2013.

Analysis by business area and brand

In order to assist the reader of the financial information, the following comparison of the six months ended 31 December 2012 with the six months ended 31 December 2011 includes tables which present the exchange, acquisitions and disposals, and organic components of the period on period movement for each of volume, sales, net sales, marketing spend and operating profit.  Organic movements in the tables below are calculated as follows:

(a)         The organic movement percentage is the amount in the column headed ‘Organic movement’ in the tables below expressed as a percentage of the aggregate of the amount in the column headed ‘2011 Reported’, the amount in the column headed ‘Exchange’ and the amount, if any, in respect of acquisitions and disposals that have impacted the comparable prior period included in the column headed ‘Acquisitions and disposals’. The inclusion of the column headed ‘Exchange’ in the organic movement calculation reflects the adjustment to recalculate the prior period results as if they had been generated at the current period’s exchange rates.

14

Table of Contents

(b)         Where a business, brand, brand distribution right or agency agreement was disposed of, or terminated, in the current or prior period, the group, in organic movement calculations, excludes the results for that business from the current period and prior period. In the calculation of operating profit, the overheads included in disposals are only those directly attributable to the businesses disposed of, and do not result from subjective judgements of management. For acquisitions in the current period, the post acquisition results are excluded from the organic movement calculations. For acquisitions in the prior period, post acquisition results are included in full in the prior period but are included in the organic movement calculation from the anniversary of the acquisition date in the current period. The acquisition column also eliminates the impact of transaction costs that have been charged to operating profit in the current or prior period in respect of acquisitions that in management assessment are expected to complete.

The organic movement calculations for volume, sales, net sales, marketing spend and operating profit for the six months ended 31 December 2012 were as follows:

15

Table of Contents