Tate & Lyle ahead of expectations

23rd Jul 2009 13:49

Shares in Tate & Lyle bounded ahead as the sugar and sweetener group reported first quarter underlying profits were ahead of expectations. "Profit before tax and exceptional items from continuing operations in the first quarter, after the benefit of favourable exchange translation, was in line with the comparative period and ahead of our expectations," Tate said.Results have continued to benefit from cost reduction measures taken across the business, Tate added.Food & Industrial Ingredients divisions saw stable demand from food and beverage customers while profits from value added ingredients continued to grow. Sucralose traded above our expectations. Demand for industrial starches has remained weak. Tate added the decision to mothball the sucralose plant in McIntosh, Alabama will cost it £56m in one-off charges.Tate said it expects a satisfactory performance in the second quarter, although the results are not expected to match those of the same period in 2008, which benefited from a peak in commodity prices.