Tate & Lyle cautious after cost hikes
British sugar and starch group Tate & Lyle today posted a 19.8% rise in pre-tax profits to £224m (€336.5m), but said rises in the cost of wheat and corn would impact on the current financial year.
London-based Tate said a strong US business performance in local currency terms had helped it chalk up a “satisfactory” overall result for the year to March 31.
The group said it had made good progress in reducing costs, focusing the business and cutting debt.
It added that it had overcome adverse exchange rate movements and substantially higher net raw material costs for wheat and corn in Europe in the latter part of the year.
However, Tate said it had not fully recovered those cost increases in 2004.
“Therefore, as we indicated in January 2004, the 2005 financial year remains challenging for the group,” a statement from the company said.
Tate employs around 6,700 staff in 24 countries.
