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 trading in line, Seachill wins new business with Tesco and Waitrose

By Michele Maatouk

Date: Thursday 01 Nov 2018

LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Food packing business Hilton Food said on Thursday that trading in the period from 16 July to date has been in line with its expectations, with good growth in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
Hilton said it has continued to grow the business through additional volumes and close cooperation with its retail partners. In addition, it has made "significant" strategic progress with the recent announcement of a joint venture with Dutch vegetarian product company Dalco.

The group said it has made good progress in Western Europe in a number of markets. In the UK, turnover has continued to grow relative to last year, driven most by its seafood division, Seachill, while the Irish business has continued to experience "encouraging" top-line growth.

As far as Seachill is concerned, the company said it has won new business to supply shellfish to Tesco and coated fish to Waitrose from March next year.

Turnover in Denmark remains broadly flat, with Sweden below the previous year, Hilton said, although it has seen some volume improvement across the period. Holland remains "challenging" and the joint venture in Portugal is continuing to show good progress.

Central Europe has seen a sustained improvement as expected, while in Australia, the group delivered double-digit volume growth.

"The group's financial position remains strong and we continue to explore opportunities to invest in and to grow the business in both domestic and overseas markets," it said.

At 0925 GMT, the shares were down 0.4% to 918p.

Shore Capital analyst Darren Shirley said: "We remain positive on Hilton Food's shares, with the investment case underpinned by a broad array of strategic growth opportunities cultivated by a high quality management team over the past 24 months (Seachill, Australia, pizza, fresh prepared meals, New Zealand, Portugal and Dalco Foods).

"Sustained cash flows and a strong balance sheet and the recent refinancing (committed facility of circa £204m; uncommitted accordion agreement in place for £154m) also provide considerable optionality.

"Trading on an FY2018 PER of 23.3x, and an EV/EBITDA multiple of 10.7x, we reiterate our buy recommendation though concede material capital appreciation from current levels is more a medium than short term opportunity."

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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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