Hilton Foods lifts dividend as home dining boosts profits

International food packing business Hilton Food lifted its dividend after a sharp rise in interim profits driven by higher volumes.

Pre-tax profit for the 28 weeks to July 12 rose 21% to £24m on revenue up 38.6% to £1.26bn. The dividend increased to 7p a share from 6p.

Volume increased 22.6% to 237,340 tonnes driven by strong contributions from Hilton’s Australian facility and higher home consumption driven by the coronavirus pandemic, the company said.

“The wide geographical spread of the group's operations is a significant strength of our business model. Hilton is well placed in the current Covid climate as it almost exclusively serves the retail sector,” Hilton said on Thursday.

“All of our facilities have remained fully operational and without interruption. Lockdown and travel restrictions have resulted in more cooking at home thereby creating higher demand for our products.”