LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Tate & Lyle Plc. (TATYY.PK, TATE.L) on Thursday said the company remains on track to deliver a good performance for the financial year ending March 31, as it delivered a solid performance in the third quarter with operating profit in line with expectations.
In an interim management statement covering the period from October 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011, the company said that in Speciality Food Ingredients, sales growth was steady, while volume growth expectedly declined from the first half.
In Bulk Ingredients, North American liquid sweetener volumes continued to benefit from good domestic and Mexican demand. In Europe, higher sugar prices increased liquid sweetener margins despite higher corn prices.
Industrial starch margins were ahead of the prior year, but volumes were lower due to some softening in demand from European paper and board customers. Towards the end of the period, US ethanol margins weakened owing to lower prices in anticipation of the expiry of the blenders' tax credit.
The company continues to expect that net debt at the end of March 31, 2012 will be somewhat higher than the 464 million pounds at the end of the last financial year.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2012 AFX News
