Published in News
Hilton Foods sees strong sales in red meat, but stays careful about 2026
Hilton Foods had a solid year in 2025, driven by red meat sales, but expects lower profits in 2026 due to costs and market pressures.
Martina Osmak
Director of Marketing
Strong finish to 2025
Hilton Food Group, a global food business supplying meat and seafood, has shared a trading update for the year ending 28 December 2025.
The company said trading was good, especially during the Christmas period. Red meat and salmon performed well, helped by strong long-term relationships with major retail customers. Hilton also renewed important meat supply contracts in countries such as the Netherlands and Denmark.
Because of this, Hilton expects its adjusted profit before tax for 2025 to be between £72 million and £75 million, which is in line with earlier guidance.
Debt position
Hilton said its net bank debt is expected to be around £135 million, slightly higher than last year.
This increase is mainly due to:
Recent business divestments
Extra inventory built in the UK earlier in 2025 to meet busy seasonal demand
The company noted that some of this inventory has already started to reduce.
Challenges going into 2026
Looking ahead, Hilton is more cautious.
The company expects:
Restrictions on smoked salmon exports from Greece to the US to continue for at least the first half of 2026
High inflation to remain in beef and white fish markets
Because of these pressures, Hilton forecasts adjusted profit before tax for 2026 to fall to between £60 million and £65 million.
Strategic review underway
Hilton is currently carrying out a strategic review of the business. The goal is to:
Refocus on its core meat operations
Find ways to improve efficiency
Identify areas for investment and future growth, including new countries
The full results of this review will be shared with the company’s full-year results in March 2026.
Leadership update and confidence in the future
Executive chair Mark Allen OBE said the company was pleased with Christmas trading but remains affected by ongoing issues at Foppen and high inflation.
He also confirmed that Samy Zekhout and Melanie Chambers have taken on expanded roles as chief operating officers, strengthening the leadership team.
Despite near-term challenges, Hilton said it remains confident in its long-term future and plans to share more detail on its strategy and targets later this year.
Source: https://meatmanagement.com/news/hilton-foods-reports-strength-in-red-meat-category/85621.article