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Tough conditions boost pork demand, says Hilton Foods By Rory Gallivan Date: Thursday 31 Mar 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Shoppers reacted to tough economic conditions last year by stocking up on pork rather than more expensive meats, the meatpacker Hilton Foods said as it posted a rise in sales and profits. Pre-tax profits for the year to 2 January were up by 10.7% from the previous 53 week period to £22.2m, said Hilton, whose customers include the supermarket giant Tesco and Dutch-based Ahold. Revenues were up by 4.6% to £864.2m. “Trading was strong, with good volume growth being achieved at all our facilities and across the range of territories in which Hilton operates,” said chief executive Robert Watson. “During 2010 we achieved further success with new product initiatives and maintained a continuing high level of investment in our modern state of the art facilities across Europe.” While volumes of meat packed were up by 9% on a comparable 52 week basis, revenues were up 6% due to an increased percentage of sales from central Europe and a higher percentage of sales of lower priced pork products. “We expect volume growth to continue but the pace of economic recovery will differ across the twelve countries in which the group's customers are located,” the company said. “We remain well placed to benefit from any improvements in economic conditions.”
Are you still in? We seek to maintain a progressive dividend policy that provides both an appropriate return to shareholders and a dividend level that grows broadly in line with the underlying earnings of the Group. I am pleased to report that, in line with this policy, the Board has recommended a final dividend of 7.4p per ordinary share in respect of 2010. This, together with the interim dividend of 2.8p per ordinary share paid in December 2010, represents a 9.0% increase over last year. The final dividend, if approved by shareholders, will be paid on 1 July 2011 to shareholders on the register on 3 June 2011 and the shares will be ex dividend on 1 June 2011.
Operating profit Operating profit, at £23.3m was 7.3% above the operating profit of £21.7m made in 2009 (representing a 9.4% increase on a comparable 52 week basis). This, together with the interim dividend of 2.8p per ordinary share paid in December 2010, represents a 9.0% increase over last year. The final dividend, if approved by shareholders, will be paid on 1 July 2011 to shareholders on the register on 3 June 2011 and the shares will be ex dividend on 1 June 2011.
The number of shares out on loan for HFG has gone down Quite a lot recently, this is another good sign. Shorters have had their fill.
'Buy' rating just in time - Thanks for posting that. I was getting worried watching profit drain away after reaching 297. Still this is a solid company and I am sure the price will creep back up over the next few months with extra revenues coming on stream in Q2. I think it was also a good trading statment regarding recent pick up in sales that may not show up so much in this years results, but will have more of an impact in the interim report. All in all I am statisfied that the future looks good and down side risk is v limited.
Panmure Gordon issued a "buy" rating for Hilton Food Group (HFG) with a 305p target price. The broker notes that the group, in its typically reliable fashion, delivered another statement saying that trading has been in line with expectations. In particular, the firm reported strong volume growth, particularly in the Netherlands and Central Europe, in addition to a pick up in growth in Sweden. The new facility in Denmark remains on schedule and on budget, and Panmure expects this will accelerate earnings growth in 2011 and 2012.
TRADING STATEMENT FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 2nd JANUARY 2011 Hilton Food Group plc, Europe's leading specialist retail meat packing business, is today providing an update on trading for the 52 weeks ended 2nd January 2011. We are pleased to report that the Group has performed well, with trading for the period in line with the Board's expectations. The Company has delivered further turnover growth, reflecting strong volume increases partly offset by the effect of product mix. We have continued to see good growth particularly in the Netherlands and Central Europe, the latter driven by increased volumes across all our business segments. In Sweden, the economy has shown signs of recovery over the last few months and we are pleased that this has translated into higher sales to our customer. In Ireland, we have worked closely with our customer to deliver value to the consumer through exceptional economic conditions. Hilton's investment in Denmark is on schedule, both in terms of construction timetable and budget. The new factory, which is in the process of being equipped to a high standard, will have the flexibility to meet the future requirements of the customer, and will be ready for a second quarter 2011 start-up. The Group's balance sheet remains strong, with net debt at budgeted level, leaving us well positioned for future expansion. The trading environment in 2011 is likely to remain challenging, but we believe Hilton is well placed to deliver continued growth. We continue to explore further opportunities to develop our business in both domestic and overseas markets. The Group intends to publish its full year results on Thursday 31st March 2011.
looking good for the up coming trading statement. Anyone out there ? Must be otherwise whose buying all these shares.
did you get the divi LOL upside since your post more than any divi just trying to see if anyone out their.
daily mail today has Hilton foods as a BUY tip.....apparently directors have been buying shares !!.... somebody obviously bought a load last month when this WAS news..still a good long term play though
all tiny little automatic trades..all buys....then a few sells..?? its knocking the ask down a bit and closing the spread..... beats me..maybe some sort of signal ? i think i'll look into this a bit deeper too..GL
Take a look at these trades today. Must be promoting the Company at a School somewhere.
It is interesting you note Directors still Buying after recent price rises. As I wrote my footprint yesterday evening it was in my mind. So, nice to see it up today , and perhaps HFG commands more thought. GL
i have been looking at these aswell. this would be a long term play in my book, should pay a nice dividend.. maybe they have reached a comfort zone....but.... directors are still buying after what has effectively been nearly 2 months of price rises....you have got to like this....i'm still watching
I took a look at these yesterday after reading a bit in the Press and reports of Director Buys as you mention. A nice rise since yesterday's close. I must admit I was tempted and like the Client list and noted they supply ICA in Sweden, a Store Group I'm familiar with and use when I'm over there, and of course Tesco here and about. Since their flotation during 2007 they've held up well and looked comfortable around the 170 - 180p level with a few peaks above that. Then to suffer the classic dip of last Autumn which affected many Stocks as we've all witnessed. I wonder how far it could go after returning back up to 170 - 180p today from the 135p level seen in February '09. Perhaps there is more to go and some good news following Director Buys could take it a bit higher. However, I haven't got round to checking out recent Reports, so on this thus far it would be a Punt, but has it reached it's comfort zone for now if you get my drift.
Some director buys here in the past month. Anyone else feel this is worth a shot?