Both Danone and Diageo issued stark profit warnings this week, blaming the outbreak of the coronavirus for the negative impact on sales and profits.

Diageo, the owner of global drink brands like Guinness, Baileys and Smirnoff, said the spread of the coronavirus would negatively hit its operating profits by in the region of £140m to £200m (€165m to €237m). The company said it expected its sales for 2020 to be down by between £225m and £325m (€267m to €385m).

Diageo said these ranges excluded any impact of coronavirus on its other markets beyond Asia Pacific.

Meanwhile, French dairy giant Danone warned that coronavirus would result in €100m of lost sales for 2020, mostly from its water business in China. Danone said it was uncertain what impact coronavirus would have on commodity prices at this stage.

The company made the announcement as it reported a 3% rise in sales for 2019 to €25.3bn. Danone’s operating profits grew by 8% to €3.8bn, as profit margins widened to 15.2%.