London, Nov 6 - British sugar refiner and sweetener maker Tate & Lyle Plc said it is more resilient than many other food groups to recession since it supplies a wide range of food makers and retail customers.
Chief Executive Iain Ferguson said the group supplies its products to branded food groups, private label food makers, direct to retailers and into the food service industry giving it a wide range of customers as world economies start to slow.
"We are fairly agnostic to what people eat, as long as they eat," he said in an interview after first-half results.
He added the group was well-placed going into its annual North American pricing round for its sweetener and starches with its customers on the back on lower corn price, and he expected the talks to conclude in January with a minimum expectation of holding his group's profits margin steady.
Earlier, the London-based group, which makes Splenda sweetener, beat forecasts with a 4 percent rise in underlying pretax profits to 128 million pounds ($203 million) for the six months to end-September compared to an analysts' consensus forecast of 120 million pound.