Tate & Lyle first half boosted by food & beverages unit

Tate & Lyle reported a rise in first-half profit and revenue on Thursday following a particularly strong performance in the food & beverage solutions business.

In the six months to 30 September, pre-tax profit was up 20% at £85m on revenue of £656m, up 19% from the same period a year ago.

Revenue in the food & beverage solutions segment was 19% higher, with double-digit organic growth across all regions. Meanwhile, revenue from new products was up 48%, reflecting strong customer demand for sugar reduction solutions. Sucralose revenues rose 17%, with higher volume partially offset by customer mix and modest pricing pressure.

Tate & Lyle said it benefitted from an improved trading environment "while having to navigate changing demand patterns, disruption to international supply chains, evolving Covid-19 restrictions and cost inflation".

Chief executive Nick Hampton said: "In a year of significant change as we re-position Tate & Lyle as a growth-focused speciality food and beverage solutions business, the group delivered strong first half performance despite inflationary headwinds. Food & beverage solutions had an excellent half and we made good progress on the priorities we set out at the start of the year.

"The strong performance of food & beverage solutions underpins Tate & Lyle's future potential as a growth-focused speciality food and beverage solutions business. The new Tate & Lyle is very well-positioned to deliver on its five-year ambition for mid-single-digit organic revenue growth and annual operating margin expansion of at least 50 to 100 basis points per year, supported by increased investment in innovation and a strong balance sheet to fund both organic growth and M&A."