(Alliance News) - Tate & Lyle PLC on Thursday said it saw its half year profit spike on higher revenue and lower finance costs, and upped its interim dividend by 15%.
The London-based sweetener and food ingredients supplier said pretax profit for the half year ended September 30 jumped 91% to GBP130 million from GBP68 million a year prior.
Revenue grew 0.9% to GBP857 million from GBP849 million a year ago, benefiting from "a combination of our focus on mix and margin expansion as well as the recovery of inflation, partially offset by softer consumer demand and customer de-stocking," explained Chief Executive Officer Nick Hampton.
Finance costs decreased by 13% to GBP13 million from GBP15 million the year prior.
Tate & Lyle upped its interim dividend by 15% to 6.2 pence per share from 5.4p the year before.
Looking ahead, the supplier said it expects revenue for the full year ending March 31 to rise slightly from GBP1.75 billion in financial 2022. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation are expected to increase between 7% to 9% from GBP320 million a year ago.
Chief Executive Officer Nick Hampton commented: "Tate & Lyle delivered a robust financial performance in the first half despite challenging market conditions and made good progress on its growth-focused strategy...Our strong ingredient portfolio and solutions capabilities in sweetening, mouthfeel and fortification mean we are well-placed to benefit from the long-term trends towards healthier, tastier and more sustainable food and drink."
Shares in Tate & Lyle were down 0.2% at 654.00 pence each in London on Thursday morning.
By Sabrina Penty, Alliance News reporter
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Tate & Lyle (TATE)