European meat packing business Hilton Food Group today (21 July) said that its first-half turnover had grown, despite “challenging conditions in some markets”.
The UK-based company said trading for the six months to 17 July had been “in line with expectations”. The group highlighted good turnover growth in western Europe, which it said benefited from a “strong performance” in Sweden. Hilton also said volumes had started to grow in Denmark, where its facility opened three months ahead of schedule.
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In Ireland, Hilton said its business had been “resilient” and said the company had worked with its customers to deliver value through “exceptional economic conditions”.
Meanwhile, in central Europe, Hilton said its business had grown, thanks to the first full year of sales to Rimi stores in Estonia.
Hilton said the outlook for the remainder of the year is “likely to remain challenging” with economic recovery across the European countries in which it operates “moving at different speeds”.
However, Hilton said that its geographic diversification means it is “well placed to deliver further growth” and that it continues to explore further opportunities to “develop our business in both existing territories and new markets”.
Shore Capital analyst Clive Black suggested there are significant opportunities for Hilton to expand with its existing customer base internationally.
“We see considerable opportunity for Hilton to follow [current customer] Ahold to the USA or Tesco to the near and Far East, never mind exploring other markets such as Germany and Finland to name but two,” Black said.
