Starch, sucralose help Tate and Lyle to strong H1

The ingredients company has reported sales of £1348m for six months ended 30 September, compared to £1298m in the same period last year. Operating profit rose 60 per cent to £138m.

The company has been placing increasing store by specialty ingredients as it has gradually sold of its sugar assets. Last month it announced plans to establish a new commercial and food innovation centre in Chicago, while plans for a bulk ingredients facility in Fort Dodge, Iowa, have been mothballed.

Meanwhile, the company sold its EU sugar operations to American Sugar Refining, Inc for £212m at the end of September, and is on track with the sales of remaining sugars businesses, namely molasses and Vietnamese sugar.

Specialty focus ​

Tate & Lyle saw a 7 per cent increase in volume sales of specialty ingredients in the last six months, and a 3 per cent increase in value (though flat in constant currencies). The better volumes, combined with improved product mix and the benefits of the single sucralose site, led it to a 32 per cent increase in operating profit to £108m.

The new sucralose plant in Singapore was opened in 2007, and last year its factory in Alabama, which used an earlier production process, was mothballed. The decision was said to be due to a “breakthrough in sucralose manufacturing yields”​ which aided yield improvements of over 25 per cent. The company has seen higher volume sales – but these are a result of volume deals it has struck with customers, so selling prices have been lower. The most significant growth has been in Asia and Latin America.

Good growth was also seen in starch volume sales. Produced at the company’s sites in Sagamoor in Indiana, and Koog in The Netherlands, starch-based ingredients account for around half the specialty ingredients division by value.

In July Tate & Lyle opened its new polydextrose plant in Koog – said to be the first for the bulking agent in Europe, which is expected to shorten the lead time for European customers.

The ingredients company has reported sales of £1348m for six months ended 30 September, compared to £1298m in the same period last year. Operating profit rose 60 per cent to £138m.

The company has been placing increasing store by specialty ingredients as it has gradually sold of its sugar assets. Last month it announced plans to establish a new commercial and food innovation centre in Chicago, while plans for a bulk ingredients facility in Fort Dodge, Iowa, have been mothballed.

Meanwhile, the company sold its EU sugar operations to American Sugar Refining, Inc for £212m at the end of September, and is on track with the sales of remaining sugars businesses, namely molasses and Vietnamese sugar.

Specialty focus ​

Tate & Lyle saw a 7 per cent increase in volume sales of specialty ingredients in the last six months, and a 3 per cent increase in value (though flat in constant currencies). The better volumes, combined with improved product mix and the benefits of the single sucralose site, led it to a 32 per cent increase in operating profit to £108m.

The new sucralose plant in Singapore was opened in 2007, and last year its factory in Alabama, which used an earlier production process, was mothballed. The decision was said to be due to a “breakthrough in sucralose manufacturing yields”​ which aided yield improvements of over 25 per cent. The company has seen higher volume sales – but these are a result of volume deals it has struck with customers, so selling prices have been lower. The most significant growth has been in Asia and Latin America.

Good growth was also seen in starch volume sales. Produced at the company’s sites in Sagamoor in Indiana, and Koog in The Netherlands, starch-based ingredients account for around half the specialty ingredients division by value.

In July Tate & Lyle opened its new polydextrose plant in Koog – said to be the first for the bulking agent in Europe, which is expected to shorten the lead time for European customers.