AGM Trading Update

Summary by AI ^BETAClose X

Hilton Food Group plc has provided a trading update ahead of its Annual General Meeting, confirming that its full-year outlook remains unchanged with expected adjusted profit before tax in the range of £60m-£65m. The company reported good trading performance in its core meat and fresh prepared food businesses, with positive momentum in Australia, New Zealand, and Central Europe, and slightly higher volumes in the West region. While seafood, vegetarian, and vegan businesses face challenges, progress is being made to improve performance, including cost reduction plans at Seachill and a shift to sea freight for Foppen exports to the US. Commercial partnerships have been extended with Tesco, and capital projects in Canada and Saudi Arabia are on track for 2027 and H2 2026 respectively, with plans to increase capacity in Poland. Capital expenditure is anticipated to be around £100m, leading to an increase in net debt over the year.

Disclaimer*

Hilton Food Group PLC

19 May 2026

HILTON FOOD GROUP PLC

AGM TRADING STATEMENT

FULL YEAR OUTLOOK UNCHANGED

Ahead of its Annual General Meeting at 9am BST today, Hilton Food Group plc ('Hilton Foods' or 'the Group'), the international red meat partner of choice, provides a trading update for the period from 29 December 2025 to date.

Trading performance

Trading performance in our core meat and fresh prepared food businesses has been good. The East region continues to benefit from positive momentum in Australia and New Zealand, and further growth in fresh prepared foods in Central Europe. The West region has delivered slightly higher volumes overall compared with the same period last year, with strong trading in the run up to Easter.

As expected, conditions remain challenging for our seafood, vegetarian and vegan businesses. However, we are making progress in improving performance to increase strategic optionality. Cost reduction plans are being implemented in Seachill against a backdrop of continuing volume challenges. Foppen is now exporting to the United States by sea rather than air, while we await feedback from the FDA following our submission to remove restrictions on exports from our facility in Greece. We continue to look for opportunities to increase volume and utilise spare capacity at our Dalco facility.

Commercial and project progress

We have recently extended our commercial partnership with Tesco in the UK. On our capital projects, Canada remains on track for full launch in 2027, with bacon now planned to be added to the scope. We continue to expect our facility in Saudi Arabia to commence operations in H2 2026. We are also finalising plans to increase capacity in Poland to drive future growth in fresh prepared foods.

2026 Outlook

We remain on track to achieve 2026 adjusted profit before tax in the range £60m-£65m. As previously indicated, we expect capital expenditure to be around £100m and net debt to increase over the year as a result.

Although we remain cautious on the broader inflationary environment and mindful of the potential impacts of the situation in the Middle East, our performance so far in this year underpins our confidence in both the short- and longer-term prospects for the Group.

The Group plans to announce its interim results for the 26 weeks ending 28 June 2026 on Thursday 3 September 2026.

ENDS

For further information please contact:

Hilton Food Group plc Tel: +44 (0) 1480 387214

Mark Allen, Executive Chair Email: investorrelations@hiltonfoodgroup.com

Matt Osborne, Chief Financial Officer

Martyn Espley, Investor Relations Director

Headland Consultancy Tel: +44 (0) 20 3805 4822

Ed Young Email: hiltonfood@headlandconsultancy.com

Will Smith

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