Diageo stands by outlook ahead of investor presentation

LONDON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Diageo (LSE: DGE.L - news) , the world's largest spirits company, reiterated its performance targets on Tuesday, ahead of a investor conference in New York.

The maker of Smirnoff vodka and Guinness beer said trading in the first four months of its financial year was in line with its expectations and that it continued to target improved top line growth, driven by stronger volume growth, and modest margin improvement for the full year.

For the first half, it said it expected net sales in North America -- its biggest and most profitable region -- to be down 2 percent, as it said in July, due to a change in the way it ships new products. (Reporting by Martinne Geller, editing by Louise Heavens)