
Volume growth remained strong at 4.0%,
demonstrating the continued strength
inour core meat category. Revenue declined
6.2% on a constant currency basis (9.4% at
actual FX rates) primarily due to significant
raw material price deflation, particularly in the
first half. In addition, adjusted operating profit
margins improved to 2.0% (2023: 1.9%), despite
the impact of lower interest cost recovery.
Our expertise in supply chain excellence
was recognised when we were named
Woolworths’ supplier of the year in Australia
and New Zealand.
Leading food manufacturer
withhighly relevant products
Hilton Foods is a business driven by a genuine
passion for food innovation. Our food and
innovation experts work collaboratively with
our customers to develop market-leading
ranges that meet evolving consumer
demands and drive volume growth across
allcategories and regions.
At Hilton Foods Australia, we have grown
sales through the relaunch of the barbecue
range including an improved burger range.
In the UK, we have successfully launched
an elevated premium at-home steak
restaurant experience while expanding our
premium Christmas food-to-order products.
Across Europe, we introduced premium tier
range extensions and ranges of healthier
hybrid mince, burger and meatball products
made from beef and poultry.
Throughout 2024, we have continued to
launch initiatives to reduce the use of plastic
in our packaging, which has resulted in
a 1,692 tonne reduction or offset of plastic
use and launched a first-to-market trial of
tray-to-tray packaging circularity in a limited
number ofstores in partnership with one of
our strategic packaging suppliers and Tesco.
Growing across international
markets with significant
expansionpotential
Hilton Foods has unique capabilities to
expand its product portfolio across regions
– selling more proteins and products to our
existing customers around the world. In 2024,
we successfully extended our UK-produced
value-added seafood range to New Zealand
to address the growing consumer demand
for convenient seafood products. We also
expanded into Romania through our Central
European facility by capitalising on our strong
partnerships with Ahold Delhaize and Żabka.
Our geographical expansion reached
asignificant milestone with the recently
announced joint venture with NADEC,
anew customer partnership in Saudi
Arabia – our first entry into the exciting
MiddleEast market, with an estimated
red meat market size of 25m tonnes per
annum. Our operations are scheduled
tocommence in H2 2026, and this venture
aligns with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s
Vision 2030 initiatives that prioritise food
security and offers substantial long-term
growth potential. Our long-term partnership
with Walmart in Canada, where we will
provide comprehensive multi-protein
solutions whilst deploying our state-of-the-art
sorting capabilities, is on track for launch
inearly 2027.
While organic growth and geographical
expansion are our primary growth levers,
we will maintain a disciplined approach to
evaluating M&A opportunities that arise that
could offer strong returns and clear synergies.
Future-ready: consumer
driven supply chain innovation
anddigitaltransformation
Our industry-leading technology is a key
element of our competitive differentiation,
directly addressing critical macro challenges,
including rising labour costs and lower staff
availability, as well as growing demand for
supply chain traceability and transparency.
Through our advanced robotics and
cloud-based infrastructure, we deliver
exceptionally efficient supply chain solutions
that empower retailers to manage their full
end-to-end value chain, from specification
to product quality and production
mapping costs.
The Foods Connected platform strengthens
both our business and our customers’
supply chains by optimising data-led
decision-making that drives cost efficiency
and enables visibility of supply chain risks.
Our category experts continue to pioneer
innovations across our supply chains,
exploring alternative species in seafood and
optimising availability, price and quality
during seasonal peak periods.
Our integrated technology solutions
continue to enhance our core food business,
with significant improvements in complex
automation across our food processing
facilities through our joint venture with
Agito. This year, our UK strategic automation
programme delivered measurable
improvements, including end-of-line robotic
automation, which boosted efficiency and
reduced reliance on labour.
In addition to supporting our core food
business, each of our technology businesses
continues to make progress in unlocking
opportunities to commercialise their
products and services outside the Group.
The Sustainable Protein Plan
The Sustainable Protein Plan underpins
everything we do, and sustainability remains
a key strategic priority for our customers.
Our principle of operating through
partnership extends into sustainability where
we deliver positive change by collaborating
throughout the supply chain. This year,
wehave continued to make progress on
Chief Executive’s summary
continued
our commitments, with a reduction of 32%
inScope 1 and 2 emissions versus 2020 base,
achieving an A CDP score for climate change,
placing us in the top reporting businesses
and we published our inaugural Transition
Plan. We continue to raise our standards with
more ambitious science-based targets, in line
with a 1.5°C pathway, which were validated
in March 2024, and most recently were
founding signatories to the UK Food Business
Charter, committing to an ambition of 40%
female representation by 2035.
Looking forward
Hilton Foods has all the right attributes
todeliver long-term success. We havebuilt
abusiness that is acutely tuned to respond
toevolving consumer preferences and
market dynamics, enabling us to anticipate
demand and drive category growth.
Our competitive advantages are clear:
strength and longevity of partnerships,
industry-leading automation, genuine
sustainability leadership and a strong
track record of launching successful new
product offers.
The strength and the longevity of our
partnerships underpin everything that
wedo, providing stability within our
existing business that creates a strong
platform for growth – whether through
deeper collaboration with existing partners,
developing complementary relationships
orexpanding into new markets. Our financial
strength provides the flexibility to pursue
strategic expansion whilst maintaining our
focus on ensuring that the core business
remains strong and stable.
Steve Murrells CBE
Group Chief Executive Officer
7 April 2025
Hilton Food Group PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2024 11Overview
Strategic report
Governance
Financial statements
Additional information