British food ingredients maker Tate & Lyle Plc has forecast its annual revenue to come in 'slightly' below year-ago levels, as softer demand and persistent de-stocking by customers weighed.
'In Food & Beverage Solutions, volume and revenue were lower [...] due to a combination of softer consumer demand and customer de-stocking,' the company said in a trading statement.
Tate & Lyle, the ingredient supplier to Splenda, a non-sugar sweetener that goes into Diet Coke and other sugar-free drinks, retained its annual core profit growth forecast of 7% to 9%.
Volume Growth
The company, which is one of the world's biggest producers of sweeteners, including high fructose corn syrup, expects renewal of customer contracts for 2024 to deliver a sequential improvement in volume growth as the year progresses.
After phasing of some customer orders from December, Tate & Lyle witnessed good volume growth last month.
The London-listed firm reported a 4% year-on-year decline in revenue for the third quarter, ending December 31. This decrease was attributed primarily to softer demand and the timing of orders, which were shifted into the fourth quarter.
'Resilient Performance'
“Tate & Lyle delivered resilient performance in challenging market conditions," commented Nick Hampton, the company's chief executive.
"The strategic repositioning of Tate & Lyle to focus on speciality food ingredients, and the investments we have made to strengthen our ingredient portfolio and solutions expertise, have positioned us well to benefit from the long-term trends towards healthier, tastier and more sustainable food and drink.”
Tate & Lyle said that expects revenue to be slightly lower than the prior year, while maintaining unchanged EBITDA growth of 7% to 9%.
Additional reporting by ESM
