Stock Markets March 31, 2026

Hilton Food Group launches strategic review while reaffirming FY26 guidance

Packaging specialist reports FY25 adjusted PBT of £73m and outlines portfolio optimisation, capex and leverage targets

By Avery Klein
Hilton Food Group launches strategic review while reaffirming FY26 guidance

Hilton Food Group reported adjusted profit before tax of £73 million for fiscal 2025, matching prior guidance, and reiterated a fiscal 2026 adjusted PBT guidance range of £60-65 million. The company has initiated a strategic review to reinforce its core red meat operations, pursue efficiency and margin gains, and expand its retailer partnership model internationally. Management flagged ongoing inflationary pressures in key raw materials and set capital expenditure and leverage targets for the year ahead.

Key Points

  • Hilton Food Group reported fiscal 2025 adjusted profit before tax of
  • The group has launched a strategic review to prioritise its core red meat operations, improve margins and efficiencies, and extend its retailer partnership model into international markets - a move with implications for food packaging and retail partnerships.
  • Management reiterated fiscal 2026 adjusted PBT guidance of
  • Capital expenditure for fiscal 2026 is guided at around

Hilton Food Group PLC reported adjusted profit before tax of \u00A373 million for fiscal 2025, in line with its previous guidance.

The company reiterated its fiscal 2026 adjusted profit before tax guidance in a range of


Strategic review and portfolio focus

The group has opened a strategic review designed to concentrate resources on its core red meat business and to drive both efficiency and margin improvement across operations. As part of this initiative, management intends to roll out the company's retailer partnership model into international markets.

Management said it is examining options to optimise the group's portfolio. The review highlights Seachill, Foppen and Dalco as businesses that management believes have limited synergy with Hilton Food Group's central capabilities, and improvement plans are being drawn up for these units.


Operational performance and outlook

On a constant currency basis the group achieved top-line growth across all regions in fiscal 2025, with the UK and Ireland division recording the strongest contribution. However, the UK seafood division Seachill registered a 6.8% fall in volumes, which the company attributed to raw material inflation.

Looking to fiscal 2026, the company noted persistent inflationary pressures in beef and white fish as factors weighing on its outlook. Management expects Dalco to continue to be loss-making. The Middle East business saw core volumes remain stable through the first quarter of the new fiscal year.


Capital allocation and balance sheet targets

Hilton Food Group has guided capital expenditure of approximately approximately

Within that total the group expects core capital expenditure of

Over the medium term the group expects core capital expenditure to be in a range of

The group has set a net bank debt to adjusted EBITDA target to remain within 1 to 2 times through the cycle.


What the company said

The company emphasised a sharpened focus on its core red meat franchise, plans to replicate its retailer partnership approach in international markets, and continued attention to capital discipline and leverage management.

Risks

  • Raw material inflation in beef and white fish is identified as a continuing headwind affecting the company's outlook - impacts food producers and seafood suppliers.
  • Dalco is expected to remain loss-making in the near term - this presents a near-term operational and financial risk within the group's portfolio.
  • Seachill experienced a 6.8% decline in volumes due to raw material inflation, indicating market sensitivity in the seafood division and potential margin pressure in that sector.

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