Sweet start to the year by Tate & Lyle
Sugar refiner and sweetener maker Tate & Lyle said yesterday it has made a satisfactory start to its financial year and was on track to achieve progress for the year as a whole.
The company, which makes sucralose sweetener Splenda, said in a trading update ahead of its annual shareholder meeting that pre-tax profit in the first quarter was broadly in line with the equivalent period last year.
“The general deterioration in global economic conditions, particularly in the USA and specifically in raw materials and energy, makes any statement about the outlook more difficult than usual,” Tate & Lyle said in the statement.
“Nevertheless, with three months of the financial year behind us and with three of the four divisions having started the year in line with our expectations, we are on track to make progress for the year as a whole,” it added. Tate & Lyle, which issued three profit warnings in 2007, has suffered from exceptionally high corn prices, which it said had eased since the end of June.
