Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
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"We have achieved further growth in volumes and turnover, whilst continuing to actively support our customers' growth in very competitive markets". The group's interim dividend has been increased to 3.4p per share from 3.1p a year earlier.
Meat packing firm Hilton Food Group said profit for the 28 weeks to 15 July 2012 was unchanged from the same time last year as high meat prices ate into earnings. The Cambridgeshire based group, which sells its products to Tesco, Ahold and Albert Heijn said revenue for the period rose to £543m, up from £496m the year before as volumes increased 10 per cent. Pre-tax profit fell slightly to £12.53m from £12.56m a year earlier. Hilton said it expects full-year profit to remain flat amid high meat prices and as shoppers continue to tighten their purse strings. "Against this challenging background, with pressures on consumer expenditure, high meat prices and consumer down trading expected to continue, the group is likely in 2012 to deliver levels of profitability similar to those achieved in 2011," the group said in a company statement. Chief Executive Robert Watson commented: "Despite the adverse effect of exchange rate movements, an economic environment across Europe which has remained both challenging and uncertain and continued high raw material meat prices, our performance over the first 28 weeks of 2012 has remained steady."
Future outlook Hilton has continued to deliver volume and turnover growth against an uncertain economic backdrop. In such an environment, consumers' drive for value is likely to continue, but Hilton, with modern well invested facilities, a broad geographic customer spread and flexible procurement capabilities, continues to remain well positioned to cope with these challenges. Against this challenging background, with pressures on consumer expenditure, high meat prices and consumer down trading expected to continue, the Group is likely in 2012 to deliver levels of profitability similar to those achieved in 2011. Hilton continues to explore opportunities for further geographical expansion and to expand its existing businesses through new product development and range extension, so as to underpin its continued progress.
ommenting, Robert Watson OBE, Chief Executive of Hilton Food Group plc said: "I am pleased to report that, despite the adverse effect of exchange rate movements, an economic environment across Europe which has remained both challenging and uncertain and continued high raw material meat prices, our performance over the first 28 weeks of 2012 has remained steady. We have achieved further growth in volumes and turnover, whilst continuing to actively support our customers' growth in very competitive markets".
Further volume and turnover growth achieved, despite a challenging economic environment · Continuing pressure on consumer spending, with the economic backdrop and higher meat prices leading to further down trading to less expensive meat cuts · Growth in operating profit also held back by the effect of adverse exchange rate movements (reducing operating profit by £0.6m, as compared with the first 28 weeks of 2011) · Hilton's new automated store order picking facility for Coop Danmark commenced operation in May 2012, with volumes handled now building up steadily · Strong cash generation enabling net debt to be reduced by 40%, from £24.8m in July 2011 to £14.9m in July 2012, with the initial investment in the Danish plant now completed · Robust balance sheet underpins growth in interim dividend from 3.1p to 3.4p, an increase of nearly 10%
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201209110700039231L
Our second company today to be battling headwinds from the weaker euro is Hilton Food Group. They will not be the last in pointing out, as the summer progresses, the damage being done on relocated profits as the European currency heads seemingly inexorably towards €1.30 to the pound. Hilton gets 75% of its earnings from outside the UK, and has good prospects of expanding elsewhere its services, packing and distributing meat to supermarkets, notably Tesco in the UK. But there are other headwinds acting as a drag on the business. Low consumer confidence in all markets does not encourage the purchase of expensive meat cuts — indeed, there is evidence of downtrading to cheaper products, such as meatballs and burgers. The grim weather has not been kind to the sale of meat for the barbecue, which would normally be selling well now. Meanwhile, the cost of meat has remained high, though there is the opportunity to pass this on to retailers. Hilton reckons it is still growing sales across the group. Most of the growth in the first half was in Denmark, where the company started production in spring 2011. There is the prospect of expanding outside Europe, into markets where the retail sector is becoming more developed. But those headwinds will persist. The shares sell on 10 times earnings, but, even with the support of a 4.5% yield, immediate progress looks limited, says The Times´s Tempus column.
The Company's balance sheet remains strong, leaving us financially well placed for future expansion. Whilst the trading environment for the rest of 2012 is likely to remain challenging, Hilton is a geographically diversified company that will be able to take advantage of subsequent economic recovery. As opportunities emerge, Hilton is well placed to deliver shareholder value, building on existing customer relationships and also by entering new markets. The Group intends to publish its half year results on Tuesday 11th September 2012.
HILTON FOOD GROUP PLC TRADING STATEMENT FOR THE 28 WEEKS ENDED 15th JULY 2012 Hilton Food Group plc ("Hilton" or "Company"), Europe's leading specialist retail meat packing business, is today providing an update on trading for the 28 weeks ended 15th July 2012. Against a background of challenging market conditions and constrained consumer demand, leading to downtrading in some of our markets, the Company has continued to deliver turnover growth. Meanwhile, as anticipated, raw material prices throughout the period have remained high, while the weakening of the Euro, Swedish Krona and Polish Zloty has resulted in a negative foreign currency translation effect when compared to the same period last year. Hilton has seen turnover growth in Western Europe, primarily driven by growth in Denmark, which started production at the end of the first quarter 2011 and where the store order picking facility has started up successfully. The Swedish business has performed well, albeit that growth has slowed in line with the broader economic conditions. Our UK business has grown, but consumer demand remains constrained and the product mix has been affected by the continuing high prices of meat. The Dutch business has delivered a steady performance. The Company has also continued to grow the business in Central Europe.
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201207190700049393H
Also had Colin Patten, executive director, announce big sales, although he is going to step down so I guess he's just offloading before that. It was featured in the FT last weekend and on www.trackinsiders.net
Robert Watson, Chief Executive Officer of Hilton Food Group, snapped up 100,000 shares in the company on Wednesday April 11, less than a fortnight after the company posted a 10% rise in pre-tax profits. Watson, who has held his position since 2002, purchased the shares at 280p each for a total outlay of £280,000. Fellow board members Colin Smith and Sir David Naish, both non-executive directors, also stocked up, buying 20,000 at 295p and 10,000 at 280p, respectively.
N+1 Brewin retained its "add" rating for Hilton Food (HFG) with a target price of 320p. The meat packaging company achieved revenues of 981.3 million pounds for the year ended 1st January 2012, beating the broker's forecast of 946.6 million pounds. Brewin noted a strong performance in western Europe, which accounted for 90% of EBIT, while eastern Europe trading suffered from inflation restricting volume growth. The broker pointed to the group's high cash generative ability, with net debt reduced to 18.7 million pounds, compared to the broker's expected 21.8 million pounds
TRADING STATEMENT FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 1st JANUARY 2012 Hilton Food Group plc, Europe's leading specialist retail meat packing business, is today providing an update on trading for the 52 weeks ended 1st January 2012. We are pleased to report that the Group has performed well, with trading for the period in line with the Board's expectations. In Western Europe, we have continued to see turnover growth in Holland and Sweden, the latter reflecting the recovery of the Swedish economy. In the UK and Ireland, we worked closely with our customer to deliver value to the consumer through challenging economic conditions, and this has enabled us to deliver a solid performance. In Central Europe, as referred to in the November Interim Management Statement, we have seen an improved performance in recent months. In Denmark, we completed the first phase of investment in the packing plant and are pleased with the volume build-up achieved. Installation of the robotic store picking facility is ongoing and when complete will further extend the range of services offered by the Group. The Group's balance sheet remains strong, with net debt close to budgeted level, leaving us well positioned for future expansion. The trading environment in 2012 is likely to remain challenging, though 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 29th March 2012.
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201201120700113700V
Good for day trading as usual.
People are shopping more carefully and wasting less meat. This is good news generally, but not so good for Hilton Food Group. First-half sales for this supplier of Tesco and supermarkets on the Continent were up 10.3 per cent, but 6 per cent came from food price inflation and 2% from favourable currency movements. Only 2.3% was a genuine rise in volumes sold and this came from countries such as Sweden. The outturn in the UK was flat. For this year, the shares sell on about 11.5 times’ earnings, which does not suggest an immediate reason to buy, says the Times.
For meat packer Hilton Food Group growth is not easy to come by. Furthermore, the company faces cost pressures, the same as its entire industry. So, given that its shares have traded towards the upper part of their recent trading range, the Telegraph’s Questor believes that the time has come to take profits. Questor, therefore, now says sell.
HILTON FOOD GROUP PLC TRADING STATEMENT FOR THE 28 WEEKS ENDED 17th JULY 2011 Hilton Food Group plc ("Hilton" or "the Company"), Europe's leading specialist retail meat packing business, is today providing an update on trading for the 28 weeks ended 17th July 2011. We are pleased to report that trading for the period has been in line with the Board's expectations. Despite challenging conditions in some markets, the Company has delivered further turnover growth. Raw material prices throughout the period have been at higher levels than last year. We have seen good turnover growth in Western Europe, which has benefited from a strong performance in Sweden where the economic recovery has continued. In Denmark, where our facility opened three months ahead of schedule, volumes have started to grow. Management is pleased with the resilience of Hilton's business in Ireland, where we have worked closely with our customer to deliver value to the consumer through exceptional economic conditions. The Company has also continued to grow the business in Central Europe, where we are benefiting from the first full year of sales to Rimi in Estonia The Company's balance sheet remains strong. As expected, net debt has increased, reflecting completion of the first phase of investment in Denmark. We remain financially well placed for future expansion. The trading environment for the rest of 2011 is likely to remain challenging, with economic recovery across the European countries in which we operate moving at different speeds. However, as a geographically diversified Company, Hilton is well placed to deliver further growth and we continue to explore further opportunities to develop our business in both existing territories and new markets.
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201107210700097315K
31-Mar-11 Hilton Food Group HFG Numis Securities Buy 255.00p Upgrade 306.00 Target
THANKS ;-}
SS - Howdy - no I didnt actually invest here - it was on my 'amber' watch list - you will be pleased with todays rise. Hope it goes well for you.
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.”