Hilton Food Group (HFG)

Sector:

Food

Index:

FTSE 250

900.00p
   
  • Change Today:
    -14.00p
  • 52 Week High: 985.00p
  • 52 Week Low: 646.00p
  • Currency: UK Pounds
  • Shares Issued: 89.70m
  • Volume: 144,023
  • Market Cap: £807.32m
  • RiskGrade: 184

Hilton Food interim profit rises, Seachill acquisition successfully integrated

By Michele Maatouk

Date: Tuesday 11 Sep 2018

LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Hilton Food reported a jump in interim profit on Tuesday as revenue rose and the company hiked its dividend, with performance boosted by the first full inclusion of the Seachill business bought last November, recovery of the business in Central Europe and further strategic progress in Australia.
In the 28 weeks to 15 July, IFRS pre-tax profit was up 13.9% to £21m on revenue of £863.6m, up 24.5% on a constant currency basis. Basic earnings per share were up 4.2% to 20p and the food packing business lifted its dividend by 12% to 5.6p a share.

Volume grew 12.7% during the period, driven by a debut contribution from the acquisition of fish processor Seachill and growth in the UK, Ireland and Australia.

Hilton said it continues to explore further opportunities for expansion and is "well placed" to capture those opportunities as they arise.

Executive chairman Robert Watson said: "Hilton has continued to deliver on its strategies to build a significantly bigger more diversified business. We achieved strong volume and profit growth during the period including the integration of Seachill and the launch of a fresh food offering in Central Europe. We have further extended our geographical reach in Australia where we commenced production and took operational control of two existing facilities whilst constructing a further facility and designing a new facility in New Zealand, which further extends our geographical reach.

"We remain committed to growing our business through innovation and product development as well as continuing to explore opportunities to expand the business both at home and abroad."

Shore Capital analyst Darren Shirley said: "After a strong start to the year, we choose to leave forecasts unchanged at this still early part of H2, though note that if current momentum is sustained then upgrade pressure will grow on our FY2018 CPTP forecast of £43.8m, EPS of 39.9p.

"Hilton's stock is trading on a December 2018 price-to-earnings ratio of 23.6x and an EV/EBITDA multiple of 10.5x, forecast to yield 2.3%, we believe Hilton more than merits such premium ratings, and see the group as a high quality growth story."

Shirley has a 'buy' rating on the stock.

At 0805 BST, the shares were up 3% to 968.00p.

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Note 1: Prices and trades are provided by Digital Look Corporate Solutions and are delayed by at least 15 minutes.

Note 2: RiskGrade figures are provided by RiskMetrics.

 

HFG Market Data

Currency UK Pounds
Share Price 900.00p
Change Today -14.00p
% Change -1.53 %
52 Week High 985.00p
52 Week Low 646.00p
Volume 144,023
Shares Issued 89.70m
Market Cap £807.32m
RiskGrade 184

HFG Star Ratings

Compare performance with the sector and the market.
more star ratings
Key: vs Market vs Sector
Value
79.79% below the market average79.79% below the market average79.79% below the market average79.79% below the market average79.79% below the market average
85.19% below the sector average85.19% below the sector average85.19% below the sector average85.19% below the sector average85.19% below the sector average
Price Trend
58.18% above the market average58.18% above the market average58.18% above the market average58.18% above the market average58.18% above the market average
53.33% above the sector average53.33% above the sector average53.33% above the sector average53.33% above the sector average53.33% above the sector average
Income
24.23% above the market average24.23% above the market average24.23% above the market average24.23% above the market average24.23% above the market average
6.67% below the sector average6.67% below the sector average6.67% below the sector average6.67% below the sector average6.67% below the sector average
Growth
12.86% below the market average12.86% below the market average12.86% below the market average12.86% below the market average12.86% below the market average
18.52% above the sector average18.52% above the sector average18.52% above the sector average18.52% above the sector average18.52% above the sector average

What The Brokers Say

Strong Buy 2
Buy 2
Neutral 1
Sell 1
Strong Sell 0
Total 6
buy
Broker recommendations should not be taken as investment advice, and are provided by the authorised brokers listed on this page.

HFG Dividends

  Latest Previous
  Interim Final
Ex-Div 31-Oct-24 30-May-24
Paid 29-Nov-24 28-Jun-24
Amount 9.60p 23.00p

Trades for 31-Oct-2024

Time Volume / Share Price
17:30 7,357 @ 899.94p
17:30 8,066 @ 899.94p
17:30 12,183 @ 899.94p
17:30 1,095 @ 899.94p
16:35 56,627 @ 900.00p

HFG Key Personnel

Chair Robert Watson
CFO Matt Osborne

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