By Rory Gallivan
LONDON--Shares in ingredients group Real Good Food PLC (RGD.LN)
slid after it said full-year adjusted profit will miss expectations
due to falling sugar prices, and that it is in discussions about
its Whitworths sugar business.
The company on Wednesday said its Whitworths sugar business
Napier Brown and its Garrett Ingredients unit have been hurt by
lower prices for the sweetener, though the rest of the group is
performing well.
Real Good Food, which also makes baking products and supplies
cakes to retailers including Marks & Spencer Group PLC
(MKS.LN), said "it is in discussions with several parties in
relation to a potential transaction involving Napier Brown."
Chairman Pieter Totte said there are signs that sugar prices
have reached their low point and will recover over the next two
years.
Real Good Food's much larger peers Tate & Lyle PLC (TATE.LN)
and Associated British Foods PLC (ABF.LN), the owner of the Silver
Spoon sugar brand, both said in November that lower sugar prices
have held back profit.
Shares at 0757 GMT were down 7 pence, or 16.7%, at 35 pence,
valuing the company at GBP24.4 million ($36.3 million).
Write to Rory Gallivan at rory.gallivan@wsj.com; Twitter:
@RoryGallivan
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