Feb 21 (Reuters) - British food ingredients maker Tate & Lyle Plc (TATE.L) , opens new tab on Wednesday forecast its annual revenue to come in "slightly" below year-ago levels, as softer demand and persistent de-stocking by customers weighed.

"In Food & Beverage Solutions, volume and revenue were lower ... due to a combination of softer consumer demand and customer de-stocking ... 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," CEO Nick Hampton said in a statement.

Tate & Lyle, the ingredient supplier to Splenda, a non-sugar sweetener that goes into Diet Coke and other sugar-free drinks, retained its annual core profit growth forecast of 7% to 9%.

The company, which is one of the world's biggest producers of sweeteners including high fructose corn syrup, expects renewal of customer contracts for 2024 to deliver a sequential improvement in volume growth as the year progresses.

After phasing of some customer orders from December, Tate & Lyle witnessed good volume growth last month.

The London-listed firm posted a 4% drop year-on-year in its revenue for the third quarter ended Dec. 31.

https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/sweetener-maker-tate-lyle-sees-lower-annual-revenue-softer-demand-2024-02-21/