Hilton Foods Regulatory News (HFG)

16 Jul 2009 07:00



HILTON FOOD GROUP plc

Trading update to 12 July 2009

Hilton Food Group plc ("Hilton" or "the Company"),  the leading specialist meat packing business supplying major international food retailers in Europe, is today providing an update on trading for the 28 weeks ended 12th July 2009.  

Although the economic environment in 2009 has been challenging, trading for the period has been in line with the Board's expectations, with turnover growth underpinned by solid volume performance and some positive impact from  foreign currency translation. Raw material prices are currently more stable in some of our markets ,following rises last year.

Against this background, we are pleased to have made good progress with a number of key initiatives.

In the UK, where the market has been challenging, we have benefitted from an increased volume of barbecue products.

We have also progressed one of our key initiatives for 2009, namely the supply of spreadable meat products to Albert Heijn in Holland, for whom production should start during the second half of the year.

 In Ireland the bacon, sausage and gammon project has continued to perform well.

Trading  has been strong in  Central Europe, where we have grown customer volumes. We have  also started to export limited volumes from our facility in Poland to Latvia, for an existing customer.

For the remainder of the year, we expect to see customers and consumers  continue to look for value and we believe that Hilton is well placed to support the market accordingly. We will continue looking to grow our business through new product opportunities and by exploring geographic expansion prospects. 

Robert Watson OBE, Chief Executive, commented:

"We have continued growing the business despite the challenging economic conditions. This has been achieved through new product initiatives, and by growth in new markets, such as Central Europe. Our modern facilities also enable us to support growth in our core markets."

Hilton is intending to publish its half year results on Thursday 10th September 2009.

Contacts:

Hilton Food Group Tel: +44 (0)1480 387214

Robert Watson,OBE, Chief Executive

Nigel Majewski, Finance Director

Citigate Dewe Rogerson Tel: +44 (0)207 282 2993

Tom Baldock/ Nicola Smith