Profits sweetener for Tate & Lyle

Tate & Lyle lifted annual profits by 12% today as the sugar and starch group continued to benefit from demand for sweetener Splenda sucralose.

The profits haul, when stripping out exceptional items, proved to be ahead of market expectations at £255m (€377.9m), compared with £227m (€336.4m) in the same period in the year to March 31 2004.