Tate & Lyle hails return to volume growth as H1 profits rise

Tate & Lyle posted a rise in first-half pre-tax profit on Thursday as it hailed a return to volume growth.

In the six months to 30 September, adjusted pre-tax profit rose 11% to £156m. Revenue fell 7% to £775m, with revenue in food & beverage solutions down 8% to £631m but a 17% increase in Sucralose to £99m.

Tate highlighted an "encouraging" return to volume growth, with group volumes up 6% and volumes in food & beverage solutions ahead 4%. Sucralose volumes rose 20%.

The company’s full-year guidance was unchanged. For the year to the end of March 2025 and at constant currency, it continues to expect revenue to be "slightly lower" than the prior year, and EBITDA growth of between 4% and 7%.

Chief executive Nick Hampton said it had been a "momentous" six months for the group.

"The combination with CP Kelco, preceded by the sale of Primient, transforms our business into a fully-focused speciality food and beverage solutions business directly aligned to attractive structural and growing consumer trends for healthier, tastier and more sustainable food and drink," he said.

"The business has continued to perform well delivering a return to volume growth, continued strong profit growth and excellent cash generation. New Product revenue from our innovation pipeline and solutions new business wins both increased, and we announced an important new partnership for all-Americas sourced and manufactured stevia at scale. CP Kelco performed as expected delivering strong volume growth and higher revenue, underpinning our confidence in a phased recovery in its profitability over time."