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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