Nov 06, 2009 (Evening Standard - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX News Network) --

Former Reckitt Benckiser executive Javed Ahmed oversaw his first results statement as boss of Tate & Lyle today, and reported reasonably sweet figures.

The sugar refiner and sweetener group made GBP112 million in the six months to the end of September, a slide of 13 percent that was roughly in line with City forecasts.

Sales increased by 7 percent to GBP1.82 billion.

Ahmed took over from Iain Ferguson in October, with a brief to improve cash flows and cut debt. Those debts are down more than GBP230 million so far this year to GBP987 million.

It was able to hold the dividend at 6.8p a share.

The group has suffered from swings in commodity prices but is hoping cheaper corn will help its US business by cutting raw material costs. More than 75 percent of its business is in America.

Tate & Lyle shares have enjoyed a decent run of late, recovering from a low of 225p in March. Today they slipped 7p to 449 p.

Ahmed said: "Tate & Lyle performed slightly ahead of our expectations in the first half of the year, before the impact of exchange translation, despite challenging conditions in a number of our markets. We are encouraged by the good progress made in reducing net debt, reflecting our focus on reducing costs, optimising working capital and reducing capital expenditure."

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