Diageo PLC UK:DGE said Thursday that pretax profit rose in the first half of fiscal 2023, supported by better-than-expected sales volumes due to higher prices, and raised its dividend payout. The London-based maker of Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky, Guinness stout and Smirnoff vodka made a pretax profit of 3.06 billion pounds ($3.73 billion) for the six months ended Dec. 31 compared with GBP2.72 billion the prior year. Organic…
