Tate & Lyle to Focus on Specialty Food after Profits Fall

A yearly net profit fall of 7% has prompted sugar refining group Tate & Lyle to focus on specialty food ingredients after it posted a profit of £229m ($333m) compared to £247m ($360m) a year ago.

Tate & Lyle chief executive Javed Ahmed said the company will be reorganised into three divisions: specialty foods including artificial sweeteners and some starch products; bulk ingredients such as corn syrup; and the long-standing sugars business.

The company posted annual revenues of £3.5bn ($5.1bn) but was hit by a £217m ($316m) impairment charge from a proposed ethanol plant at Fort Dodge in Iowa, US.

Around two-thirds of Tate’s profits come from supplying sweeteners, starches and ethanol, where profits have been hit by lower demand, the company said.