Third-quarter trading at the Hilton Food Group has met board expectations, as the company continued to perform strongly, with volume growth across all operating regions.
The company’s seafood business delivered a good performance and witnessed volume and revenue growth within the UK and Ireland, the company noted in a trading update.
In Europe, core meat ranges and convenience meals performed strongly. The company continued to implement its recovery plan for Dalco within the vegan and vegetarian segments.
Deflation in raw-material prices impacted the company’s revenue in the APAC region, while volumes remained strong.
Steve Murrells CBE, group chief executive of Hilton Foods, stated, “This has been a further period of progress for Hilton Foods. The strength of our quality products has continued to underpin our customer relationships, as we target further international growth.
“In the final quarter of the year, we remain confident in delivering our full year in line with our expectations, and I would like to thank all our teams around the world, who continue to deliver for our customer partners.”
Outlook
Hilton Foods added that it is ‘well positioned’ in a large, attractive multichannel marketplace, supported by long-standing customer partnerships, a diverse product range, and a growing global footprint, all backed by modern, high-tech automated facilities.
The company’s financial position remains strong, and it will continue to invest in opportunities that align with its strategic priorities.
Shore Capital reiterated its conviction in Hilton Foods as ‘a very high-quality operator of global scale, ambition and potential.’
It noted, ‘We leave forecasts unchanged at a pre-tax profit of £76.0 million and EPS of 60.8p, strong year-on-year growth of >16%. We believe Hilton trades on undemanding valuations for a high-quality, medium to long-term growth business.’
