Hilton Food falls 25% on profit growth warning, Greek salmon stoppage

(Reuters) -British meat and seafood supplier Hilton Food said on Tuesday its profit growth is likely to be challenging in the year ahead and it would not be able to restart its Greek smoked salmon facility this year, knocking its shares 25% lower.

Hilton Food said persistent inflation and rising costs of raw materials were suppressing appetites for seafood, especially white fish, a key ingredient of British fish and chips.

"Inflation is the real danger here, gnawing away at profitability and dulling demand for anything beyond the basics," said eToro market analyst Mark Crouch.

Britain's inflation remains the highest among the world's rich advanced economies. This has resulted in a steep rise in food prices, forcing consumers to turn to cheaper products.

Shares of Cambridgeshire-based Hilton Foods fell more than 25% to 480 pence, their lowest since December 2022.

Hilton Food also said that the U.S. government shutdown meant it had not been able to get the necessary Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals to restart production at its Foppen smoked salmon facility in Greece.

It said in September it had been forced to move production to the Netherlands, raising costs and reducing efficiency. 

On Tuesday, Hilton Food said it no longer expects production at the Greek facility to resume this year. The delay coincides with the Christmas season, a peak period for Hilton Food's festive range, adding to the financial hit. 

Hilton Food expects adjusted pre-tax profit for fiscal year 2025 of between 72 million pounds and 75 million pounds, which Panmure Liberum said was about 3% below the current market consensus forecast of 75.6 million pounds ($101 million).

($1 = 0.7451 pounds)

(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Alexander Smith)