Another Year of Consistent Delivery By Tate & Lyle
Tate & Lyle, the UK-based global provider of solutions and ingredients for food, beverage and industrial markets, achieved a 2% increase in revenue to £2.882 billion and a 4% rise in adjusted profit before tax to £331 million for the year ended 31 March 2020. Group statutory profit before tax grew by 23% due to lower exceptional costs.
Tate & Lyle operates through two global divisions – Food & Beverage Solutions and Primary Products. Food & Beverage Solutions is focused on growth by building leading positions globally in the categories of beverages, dairy, and soups, sauces and dressings. Primary Products is focused on delivering steady earnings and generating cash.
Food & Beverage Solutions consists of: Texturants, including speciality starches and stabilisers; Sweeteners, including low- and no-calorie sweeteners such as Sucralose; and a Health and Wellness portfolio comprising mainly speciality fibres. Primary Products consists of high-volume sweeteners, industrial starches and fermentation products (primarily acidulants). It also sells co-products from the corn milling process as animal nutrition.
Nick Hampton.
During the year, Tate & Lyle’s Food & Beverage Solutions business delivered a 10% increase in profit to £162 million with volume sales up by1% and revenue climbing by 5%. Profit from Sucralose was up 1% to £63 million. Profit at Primary Products grew 3% to £158 million.
Nick Hampton, chief executive of Tate & Lyle, comments: “This has been another year of consistent delivery. We made good progress executing our strategy with strong revenue and profit growth from Food & Beverage Solutions and profit growth from Primary Products in more challenging markets.
“Food & Beverage Solutions delivered revenue growth in each region with revenue from New Products 15% higher. Operational execution was excellent and our three priorities to ‘Sharpen, Accelerate and Simplify’ the business continued to support performance. Customer focus was sharper, our innovation delivered strong growth and we delivered productivity ahead of target. Our culture is enabling us to move with greater pace and agility and we entered the new financial year with real momentum.”
Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the start of Tate & Lyle’s 2021 financial year, with lockdowns in the US and Europe, resulting in mixed trading in April. As the length and extent of the pandemic remains uncertain, Tate & Lyle is a not issuing guidance for the year ending 31 March 2021.
Nick Hampton continues: “Tate & Lyle is a resilient business that meets challenges head-on. The fundamentals of our business remain sound despite the challenges of Covid-19. Our high-quality portfolio of ingredients and solutions enable consumers to enjoy healthier and tastier food products and drinks. Demand for these products is growing and this trend is here to stay. Combined with our financial strength, this gives me confidence we will navigate this period successfully and that our future prospects remain strong.”
