LONDON (AP) – British sugar refiner Tate & Lyle plc said yestersay that it won't restart construction of an ethanol plant in Fort Dodge, Iowa, in the foreseeable future.

Tate & Lyle, which also produces bulk ingredients, said it had written off a loss of £217 million ($316 million) on the project this year and another £25 million next year.

Work on the plant, which was designed to produce 100 million gallons of ethanol per year, has been suspended since March 2009.

Tate & Lyle announced the decision as it reported that net profit for the year ending March 31 fell to £15 million, compared with £65 million in the previous year.

Tate & Lyle says its decision on the Fort Dodge project was based on the depressed and volatile outlook for ethanol and uncertain conditions in industrial starch and corn gluten feed markets.

"The continuing depressed and volatile outlook for ethanol, and uncertain conditions in industrial starch and corn gluten feed markets, do not provide any basis to complete and commission the plant," the company said.

Restarting and finishing the project, the company said, would cost another £70 million.

"Factoring in the risks associated with future returns from the plant, including the length of time to complete, regulatory uncertainty and a continuation of the current market conditions, we have concluded that the plant is highly unlikely to be completed or commissioned in the foreseeable future," the company said.