Dividends are normally paid twice a year. Employee shares held in the SPA, UK Share Incentive Plan (SIP) and ROI share plans are usually eligible to receive dividends. To receive a dividend you must hold shares on the dividend “record date”. Dividend dates are announced with the Company’s results and you can refer to the Financial calendar for key up and coming dates
Dividend Reinvestment
If you hold shares in SPA or SIP you also have the option to reinvest your dividends and receive more shares. To elect to have your dividends reinvested make sure you manage your dividend election from the task list on your EquatePlus portal account and elect the plan reinvestment option. Elections must be made by the Record Date.
International Payments
Diageo dividends are paid in GBP. You can easily elect to have your dividend converted into your local currency and paid to your local bank account through your share portal account. Simply follow the onscreen instructions when withdrawing your dividend from your online account. Fees apply for international bank transfers and these are presented when completing your transaction.
Certificated Shares
If you hold paper share certificates (i.e. that have been issued to you from shares that have matured or been released from an employee share plan and can’t be held electronically) then dividends on these shares will continue to be paid to you by Diageo’s Registrar.
You can contact the Registrar on 0371 277 1010 or visit www.diageoregistrars.com to find out more information about dividends on certificated shares.