Diet Sweteeners Increase Sugar Giant Profits

Diet-conscious consumers are reducing their intake of sugar by using low calorie sweeteners .
This has resulted in Tate and Lyle incurring higher full-year profits.
Increasing levels of obesity and diabetes in the America, Europe and other markets as well as high sugar prices have triggered high demand for Tate’s Splenda sucralose sweetener .
This has helped them maintain their share of the international market at around 90 per cent.
The group announced that it would be re-opening an old Splenda plant in America in 2012 as demand for the sweetener outstrips supply.
Tate experienced a 34 per cent increase in annual profits to £263 million and increased its total dividend for 2011 by 3.5 per cent to 23.7p, its first annual increase since 2008-9.