Tate & Lyle profits hit by cold US spring A cold spring in the US hit first-half profits at Tate & Lyle, but the British sweetener-maker said it was on track to meet expectations of a sharp improvement in the second half. The company is shifting its business from volatile bulk commodities, such as sugar, into the more profitable speciality ingredients business, which includes sweeteners and starches. Javed Ahmed, chief executive, said: "Sugar replacement is a huge, huge market." Pre-tax profits fell 6 per cent to £158m in the six months to the end of September from the same period last year, on sales 7 per cent higher at £1.7bn. This was in line with expectations after the company warned last month about softer US sales. Martin Deboo, analyst at Investec, said the results were "reassuringly in line with expectations. The challenge is whether Tate can reverse a 6 per cent decline in the first half into the 13 per cent increase in the second half implied by our numbers. We think they can. Lower corn prices, the accelerating speciality food business, cost-cutting and the absence of a £8m one-off hit last year are all expected to lead to a profits upturn in the second half. Mr Javed played down fears about a new tax to be levied in Mexico on soft drinks, saying it was too early to tell how consumers would react. Speciality ingredients accounted for 30 per cent of sales, but 60 per cent of operating profits, before central costs. The division reported a 6 per cent increase in first-half operating profits against a 16 per cent decline for bulk ingredients. The shares rose 2 per cent in London lunchtime trading to 809p.