Hilton Food sees trading in line despite tough environment

Hilton Food said trading in the year to date had been in line with expectations, with volumes and sales ahead of last year despite a challenging economic environment and lower raw materials prices in some of its markets.

UK & Ireland volumes and revenue were ahead of last year, benefiting from a strong Easter trading period as well as slowing inflation and good growth in Ireland, while the momentum of turnaround at its UK Seafood operation continued, the company said in an update on Monday.

In continental Europe, Hilton’s core meat and easier meals business reported volume and revenue ahead of last year, while in Asia-Pacific there was more normalised volume growth following a strong 2023, with revenue seeing some impact from changes in mix and deflation.

“We continue to build our long-term partnership with Walmart in Canada and remain on track for the 2027 launch of our multi-protein facility, starting with beef, lamb, pork, seafood, some added-value products and robotised store order picking services,” the company said ahead of its annual general meeting.

"We are well placed to deliver long-term value to all stakeholders through our customer partnerships and with our strong financial position we continue to explore further growth opportunities and wider geographic expansion."

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com