LONDON (Reuters) - British ingredients supplier Tate & Lyle (L:TATE) raised its full-year profit forecast on Thursday after a better-than-expected first half, helped by strong demand for soft drinks in the United States and a weak British pound.
The company reported sales rose 13 percent to 1.3 billion pounds in the six months to Sept. 30. Excluding the impact of weaker sterling, sales rose 1 percent.
Adjusted profit was 140 million pounds, up 22 percent on a constant currency basis. That compared, for example, to Jefferies' analysts' expectations for 121 million pounds.
The company's bulk ingredients business, which sells sweetener to soft drink makers and accounts for about 40 percent of group profits, saw profits rise 36 percent, helped by strong demand, operational improvements and strong pricing.
"We expect adjusted profit before tax in constant currency for the full year to be higher than we anticipated coming into the year, driven by the strong first half performance, with performance in the second half remaining in line with our expectations," said Tate's chief executive Javed Ahmed.
Tate's shares, up 24 percent since Britain's vote for Brexit in June that sent the UK pound tumbling, rose a further 6.5 percent on Thursday morning to 829p.