British food ingredients firm Tate & Lyle PLC said on Thursday that it still expects flat earnings for the year ended 31 March due to a dramatic drop in prices of its sucralose sweetener and weak soft drink sales in the United States.
The company, which sells sucralose under the Splenda brand as well as other sweeteners, said its specialty food ingredient business should report strong volume growth in emerging markets and Europe, though profits in the division will be crimped by a much more competitive market for sucralose.
The company said its bulk ingredients business should report lower full-year profit, due to weak soft drink sales in the United States, which reduced demand for corn syrup.
