Hilton Food Group profits rise amid volume growth in basic meats

Hilton Food Group’s profits rose in the first half of the year thanks to strong volume growth in core meats.

The food packaging giant revealed that its adjusted pre-tax profit rose 37.8 per cent at constant currency levels to £33.5m in the six months ended June.

At the same time, the Huntingdon-based firm’s statutory pre-tax profits rose 125.7 per cent to £25.4m.

Turnover fell 8.4 per cent to £1.9bn but was still up 1 per cent on a like-for-like basis, helped by expanding retail volumes across all regions.

Total food volumes rose 3.2 per cent to 260,907 tonnes, with growth in the UK and Ireland supported by core retail meat and premium products and an improved performance from its seafood division.

Meanwhile, volumes in Europe were boosted by demand for localized prepared foods in Sweden and Central Europe.

The result allowed Hilton to increase its interim dividend by 6.7 percent to 9.6 pence per share.

Steve Murrells, Hilton’s chief executive, said: ‘These results represent another step forward as Hilton Foods further improves business performance and profitability.

‘Our core meat category performed particularly well, driving volume growth, while continued positive momentum in our seafood business helped underpin earnings performance.’

Hilton also announced that Mark Allen, currently president of manufacturer Irn-Bru AG Barr, will become its chairman beginning early next year.

Allen will replace Robert Watson, who has worked at Hilton for more than two decades, including 16 years as chief executive.

Prior to AG Barr, Allen was CEO of Dairy Crest Group, the maker of Cathedral City cheddar and Country Life butter, for 12 years until its acquisition in 2019 by Montreal-based Saputo.

The former police officer has also held non-executive roles at Dairy UK, Howdens Joinery, bakery company Warburtons and kitchen and bathroom products supplier Norcros.

Angus Porter, a senior independent director at Hilton, said Allen “has a wealth of relevant experience in the consumer goods and food sectors and, throughout the search process, demonstrated an excellent appreciation of Hilton Foods’ strategy and values.”

Shares in Hilton Food Group fell 4.8 per cent to 926 pence on Wednesday afternoon, making it one of the biggest fallers in the FTSE 250.