A food ingredients company has announced profits of £73 million ($119 million) for the six months ended September 30, which marked a 59 per cent increase from £46 million ($75 million) in the same time period of the previous year.

Sales for the six months at Tate & Lyle increased 4 per cent to £1,348 million ($2,194 million) from £1,298 million ($2,113 million).

Javed Ahmed, Chief Executive, said: "Tate & Lyle delivered an encouraging performance in the first half of the year.

"In addition to good operational performance and steady demand growth in a number of our markets, we benefited from strong seasonal demand and improved co-product income as corn prices rose towards the end of the summer.

"We have also now achieved the full benefits from the single plant sucralose manufacturing footprint. We continue to take the necessary actions to focus, fix and grow our business as we build the platform to deliver sustainable long-term growth".

Tate & Lyle's Specialty Food Ingredients segment for the six-month period had adjusted operating profit of £108 million, up 32% from £82 million in the same time period of the previous year, and sales of £414 million, up 3% from £403 million. Increased sales volume, improved product mix and the full benefits of a single plant sucralose manufacturing footprint drove the increase in operating profit.

The Bulk Ingredients segment had six-month operating profit of £85 million, up 13% from £75 million in the same time period of the previous year, and six-month sales of £934 million, up 4% from £895 million.