Tate & Lyle warns of continued pressures

Tate & Lyle delivered double-digit profits growth for a third quarter in a row today, but warned a number of factors will impact its performance this year.

The sugar and starch group said adjusted pre-tax profits were £336m (€493m) in the year to March 31, up from £295m (€433m) a year earlier. The improvement came despite the “headwinds” of energy cost increases, the impact of EU sugar reform and adverse currency movements.

For the current financial year, Tate said the continuing oversupply of sugar in the EU market will have a further negative impact on its sugar refining business, which has operations in London and Lisbon.

The planned disposal of its European food and industrial ingredients division will also reduce operating profits, while a new factory in Singapore to meet demand for sucralose Splenda will increase fixed costs.