Hilton Food Group PLC (LSE:HFG) sparked a 14% share price rally on Thursday as the food producer lifted full-year profit targets while managing an ongoing seafood margin squeeze.
The shares climbed from 631p to 718p as Shore Capital reiterated its 'house stock' rating and updated its financial model after interim results beat market expectations.
At the heart of the update is a resilient £32.8 million adjusted pre-tax profit from continuing operations that comfortably cleared the £31.5 million forecast pencilled in by the broker.
That performance, alongside the agreed sale of loss-making vegan unit Dalco and favourable foreign currency movements, prompted management to lift full-year profit guidance to between £66 million and £71 million.
Those revised numbers gave Shore Capital the ammunition to hike its own pre-tax profit forecast for the current financial year from £62.5 million to £66 million.
Tempering the positive momentum, Shore Capital highlighted that United States export restrictions on Greek and Dutch Foppen operations squeezed seafood margins, leaving a blemish on the statutory figures.
Partially offsetting those seafood headwinds, operational improvement plans at the British Seachill fish business are gaining traction and are expected to boost profitability across the second half.
That lingering operational drag is nevertheless expected by the broker to clear within 12 months, granting the food producer breathing room to execute its wider international expansion.
Pivotal to that forward momentum is the planned launch of a beef, pork, and fish processing facility in Canada in January 2027, with bacon processing scheduled to follow later that year.