Strong improvements in both China and Spain were more than offsetting the absence of export sales from the UK and lower sales in South Africa, said the company.

Profits from the firm’s UK business will reflect the impact of the sugar beet crop shortfall, caused by frost damage during the severe weather last winter. Production was just below 1.0Mt of sugar with the shortfall against contracted quantities being made up by a combination of destocking, additional in-house refining in Spain and securing supplementary supplies from third parties at higher cost.

Strong year for sugar

Shore Capital analysts Darren Shirley and Clive Black said in a statement: ”Looking into 2011/12F, we continue to expect a very strong year for sugar, with the UK division set to benefit from substantially higher contract prices. “Management has confirmed the Vivergo bio-ethanol plant in Hull is expected to be completed in spring 2012 after a number of delays.”

But ABF warned that the operating profit of its yeast and bakery ingredients business - AB Mauri would be “sharply lower” in the second half of the year than the first half.

“Some weakness in the bakery industry in North America led to lower sales of wet yeast and higher-margin technical bakery ingredients, and full recovery of higher input costs was consequently challenging.”

ABF results are due to be posted on November 8.