Shares in Tate & Lyle (LON:TATE) sweetened 6% in early deals as the ingredients group revealed it expects pre-tax profit for the full year to be higher than expected.
It comes on the back of a strong first half to September 30, which saw profit growth in both divisions - speciality and bulk ingredients.
The group brushed aside Brexit fears following the June vote, saying it generated less than 2% of its revenues in the UK, with most revenues being US dollar based - hence today's results were aided by the weak pound.
Adjusted profit before tax was £140 million (2015:£103mln) - a 22% increase on a constant currency basis, while sales rose 13% to £1.3bn (2015:£1.1bn).
Chief executive Javed Ahmed said the strong start to the year was supported by good US bulk sweetener demand in the key summer beverage season, and the benefit of the one-off sell-down of excess inventory in Sucralose.
He added: "We are continuing to actively position core Bulk Ingredients to deliver steadier earnings over the longer term, with an increasing focus on customer service, cost control and continuous manufacturing improvement."
Shares added 6.04% to 825.5p.