Tate & Lyle, whose brands include zero calorie sweeteners Splenda and Tasteva, said on Wednesday that the expected cold start to the U.S. summer resulted in lower volumes within the beverage sector, which mainly impacted bulk ingredients.
Its speciality food ingredients business saw volumes and sales rise ahead of the wider market thanks to growth in Europe and emerging markets which made up for softer performance in the U.S., it said. Overall, adjusted operating profit was in line with its own expectations.
"Our outlook for the year remains unchanged and we continue to expect to deliver another year of profitable growth," the company said.
Tate & Lyle has in recent years shifted its focus to developing its more profitable speciality food ingredients business of sweeteners and starches, which accounted for almost 30 percent of sales last year, away from its sugar operations.
Shares in Tate, which are up 11 percent since the start of the year, closed at 823.5 pence on Tuesday valuing the company at 3.8 billion pounds ($5.8 billion).
