Hilton Food cuts full-year profit forecast, warns of “difficult” 2026

Hilton Food Group has lowered its full-year nett guidance and pointed to a “difficult” outlook for nett progression successful 2026.

In a London Stock Exchange filing contiguous (11 November), the UK-based nutrient and seafood private-label supplier projected an adjusted pre-tax nett of £72m ($94.6m) to £75m for the fiscal twelvemonth ending 28 December.

When the institution announced its results for the 26 weeks to 29 June, Hilton Food said the metric would present a nett of £76.8m to £81m based connected estimates arsenic of 2 September.

Today, Hilton Food flagged challenges successful its UK seafood concern and its Foppen salmon operations successful the Netherlands.

“Given the emerging interaction connected request from ongoing inflationary pressures and the continued disruption astatine Foppen, the committee has go much cautious connected the trading outlook for 2026 and arsenic specified expects nett progression successful the adjacent fiscal twelvemonth to beryllium difficult,” the institution said successful the filing.

It added that UK seafood "continues to beryllium impacted by softer white-fish demand", which it said "is driven by ongoing precocious earthy worldly ostentation and cautious user spending".

Hilton Food said the Foppen concern successful Europe has faced "operational disruption" linked to regulatory restrictions connected shipping to the US. As a result, accumulation astatine a installation successful Greece has stopped, delayed by the US authorities shutdown, and is not expected to restart operations successful 2025.

The institution has faced challenges successful seafood successful the past.

In 2023, the private-label focused macromolecule concern said it was taking steps to tackle the “challenges” successful UK seafood.

“We are moving successful concern with our customers to retrieve inflation, trim costs and optimise the ranges we produce, arsenic good arsenic leveraging the benefits which volition travel done our concern successful industry-leading automation and different initiatives,” the institution said astatine the time.

A twelvemonth later, Hilton Food announced redundancies astatine its Grimsby seafood operations successful the UK arsenic it introduced caller filleting equipment.

In different class areas, Hilton Food said contiguous that volumes successful reddish nutrient and convenience stay “solid”, with convenience particularly performing “well”.

However, “price inflation” is weighing connected underlying demand, it said.

Hilton expects nett indebtedness astatine year-end to beryllium “marginally higher” than astatine the extremity of the anterior year.

The institution secured £71m successful nett currency from disposals during the 4th and is investing successful caller Canadian facilities. The currency receipts see the merchantability of UK foodservice supplier Fairfax Meadow to Sysco successful a £54m deal.

The radical besides expects a “partial inventory unwind” implicit the Christmas period.