Hilton Food Group Building a Bigger and More Diversified Business
Hilton Food Group, the leading specialist international food packing business, has reported a 21.5% increase in revenue to £1.649 billion with adjusted operating profit 27.1% higher at £48.7 million, driven by a full year trading from the Seachill acquisition, for the 52 weeks ended 30 December 2018.
Following the acquisition of Seachill last year to diversify into seafood, the business has been successfully integrated into the group. Seachill traded well during the year and secured new business for shellfish and also coated fish which will commence in early 2019. Hilton Food Group also commenced production in Australia to support its customer from a satellite facility in Brisbane, Queensland. The construction of the new facility is proceeding well and is expected to open ahead of schedule in the third quarter of 2019. During the year, Hilton Food Group restructured its joint venture with Woolworths taking operational control of two facilities and signed 15 year long term supply agreements. Work is proceeding well on the construction of a new facility in New Zealand which is due to open in 2020.
Hilton Food Group has formed a joint venture with Dalco, a Dutch leading vegetarian product manufacturer, with the transaction completed since the year end following competition authority clearance. 2018 also saw the launch of fresh convenience foods in Central Europe.
Over 70% of Hilton Food Group’s volumes were produced in countries outside the UK in 2018.
Robert Watson OBE, executive chairman of Hilton Food Group, comments: “In 2018, we continued to deliver on our strategic objectives to build a significantly bigger and more diversified business. Seachill’s integration together with the new shellfish business win has driven volume and profit growth further supported in Australia through the start of production and transfer of operational control in the joint venture facilities. We are adding another protein to our offering through an agreement to invest in leading vegetarian producer Dalco and continue to explore further opportunities in both domestic and overseas markets.”
