GUINNESS plc said yesterday its profits would be hit by a £64 million sterling charge, sending its shares into a nose dive.

The announcement showed very weak beer sales in Spain, where Guinness said it needed to spend another £29 million reorganising its Cruzcampo operation, acquired in 1991.

Another £10 million will be levied mainly against United Distillers in Europe for further cost reduction and customer service initiatives, said the company.

At the time of its half year results, Guinness said its spirits business, United Distillers, would suffer a charge of £25 million in its 1995 profits.

Guinness shares fell 15p to 474p as the unexpected charge against Cruzcampo, Spain's largest brewer, knocked investor confidence. Since acquiring Cruzcampo four years ago, Guinness has cut the workforce by 1,000 to 2,500 and the number of breweries by three to six.

A spokesman for Guinness said Cruzcampo management had entered into talks with the union, but he declined to give details of how the cost savings would be achieved.

"The additional charges disclosed today reflect our continued determination to take the necessary action to raise productivity and operational efficiency, which will pay back to shareholders in improved profitability and competitive effectiveness", said chairman Mr Tony Greener.

Releasing its trading statement ahead of the closed period before it announces year results on March 21st, Guinness said market conditions had shown little change since last September.

United Distillers had traded strongly in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Australia and South Africa but conditions in Europe had remained difficult, with consumer confidence severely restrained, the group said in a statement.

And, while volume and profit were ahead in Spain and Britain, in other European markets trading continued at levels below last year. Christmas pricing in Britain was at the same level as the previous year.

In Japan, conditions deteriorated further in the final quarter, and profits of United Distillers Japan would be £10 million below previous expectations, Guinness added.

"At the time of the interim results, we said that we expected to make steady progress in profit performance in 1995, apart from reorganisation charges," he added.

"As a result of the final quarter's trading, apart from Japan, this expectation is unchanged," said Mr Greener.