Tate & Lyle’s CEO has confessed to a “disappointing” year’s performance at the ingredients giant amid takeover talks by US peer Ingredion.
Nick Hampton said management was “acting with urgency” to return Tate & Lyle to top-line growth, after its full-year results revealed a 3% fall in revenues to £2bn on Thursday morning.
Adjusted pre-tax profits slipped 5% to £238m, with adjusted EBITDA down 3% to £415m. Revenue was down in all three of Tate’s geographic divisions in the year to 31 March 2026.
The results came just a week after Tate revealed that $7bn US peer Ingredion had made a cash offer of £2.7bn to buy out Tate’s shareholders. Shares soared nearly 50% following the announcement.
Hampton said the year had been one of “significant progress and challenge” following the acquisition of natural gum manufacturer CP Kelco in late 2024.
While Hampton spoke of “increased customer traction” and a “stronger new business pipeline”, the acquisition is yet to deliver the significant boost to revenues promised last year.
“Softer market demand than anticipated [and] an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape” contributed to the company’s subdued financial performance, alongside the integration of CP Kelco.
Progress on the integration, however, is “in line with expectations”, Tate said. The group estimated $70m of revenue synergies would be achieved by the end of 2029, and $50m of cost synergies by the end of 2027. Around $24m of cost synergies were realised in 2025.
Assuming a “limited impact” from conflict in the Middle East, Tate has guided investors to expect “modest” revenue growth for the 2027 financial year, weighted towards the second half, and a broadly flat EBITDA less a $20m one-off impact from consolidating CP Kelso’s bio-gums capacity.
Ingredion must decide whether to make a firm offer for Tate’s shares by 11 June, though the deadline is extensible.
No comments yet