Food manufacturer Tate & Lyle has blamed “softer consumer demand” and inflation for a drop in sales in its fourth quarter.
The group, which spans categories including food and beverage solutions and sucralose, saw a fall of 4% in the three months to 31 December 2023.
However, its nine months to December results fared slightly better with sales edging up 1%.
Chief executive Nick Hampton said: “In Food and Beverage Solutions, volume and revenue were lower than the comparative period.”
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“This was due to a combination of softer consumer demand and customer de-stocking, reduced inflation pass-through, and some customers phasing orders into the fourth quarter when new calendar year contracts, which included the pass-through of input cost deflation, came into effect.”
Despite the CEO noting that a renewal of customer contracts for the 2024 calendar year was predicted to deliver growth, the company expects sales to be “slightly lower” in its new financial year.
Hampton added: “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.”
The results follow the axing of Lyle’s Golden Syrup iconic logo of a dead lion swarmed by bees on its bottle this week, amid a product rebrand. The brand, alongside Tate & Lyle Sugars, was sold off by Tate & Lyle in 2010 .
