UPDATE 3-Tate & Lyle cost cutting helps Q1 beat hopes

* Expects Q2 pretax profit below same period last year

* Sucralose trading above expectations

* Demand from food, beverage customers resilient

* Shares up 9 percent

(Adds details on cost cutting, updated shares)

By Matt Scuffham

LONDON, July 23 (Reuters) - British sugar refiner and sweetener maker Tate & Lyle (TATE.L: Cotización) said on Thursday first-quarter pretax profit was ahead of its expectations as it reaped the benefits from a series of cost cutting measures.

Shares in the company, which have fallen over 20 percent during the last year on the back of two profit warnings, were up 8.8 percent to 339 pence at 1015 GMT.

Tate & Lyle, once the world's biggest sugar refiner, said, although its outlook was unclear in the short term, it had made a better-than-anticipated start to the year with demand from food and beverage customers remaining resilient.