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Hilton Food Group PLC on Tuesday said earnings in 2025 will be lower than market expectations, and it expects ‘profit progression in the next financial year to be difficult’. In response, shares in the Huntingdon, England-based food packaging company dropped 20% to 509.70 pence each in London on Tuesday morning. They have fallen 46% in the past 12 months. In a trading update covering the quarter to October 19, Hilton Food said the wider UK seafood division continues to be hurt by softer white-fish demand. This is driven by ongoing high raw material inflation and cautious consumer spending, the firm said. In addition, the Foppen smoked salmon business in Europe continues to experience operational disruption due to regulatory restrictions on shipments to the US, resulting in extra costs. Hilton Food said the US government shutdown has resulted in delay to the approvals for the Greek facility to recommence production. As a result, the company do not expect that production in Greece will resume in 2025. Volumes across red meat and convenience remain solid, Hilton Foods said, with convenience in particular continuing to perform well. Price inflation pressures continue to weigh on underlying demand, however. Hilton Food now expects adjusted pretax profit for the financial year ending December 28 to be in the range of £72 million to £75 million, compared to £76.8 million to £81.0 million consensus range before. This would be down from £76.1 million in 2024. In addition, Hilton Foods has ‘become more cautious on the trading outlook for 2026 and as such expects profit progression in the next financial year to be difficult’. This reflects the emerging impact on demand from price inflation and the continued disruption at Foppen. Hilton Food said its operations and portfolio review is at an ‘advanced’ stage and has identified ‘clear opportunities’ to optimise operations going forward. The company said expects to provide an update on the conclusions of the review alongside the full year trading update on January 29. It is the second trading setback for Hilton Food this year. In September, shares plunged around 18% after the company said a shortage of white fish prompted ‘significant’ raw material inflation and softer UK demand, contributing to a drop in half-year profitability. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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