FTSE 250-listed Hilton Foods raises profit forecast to between £66m and £71m after selling its loss-making Dutch vegan business Dalco for £5.4m

FTSE 250-listed Hilton Foods, the UK's largest meatpacker, has upgraded its full-year pre-tax profit forecast to between £66m and £71m, representing approximately a 10 per cent uplift from its prior guidance range. The revision follows the completion in July of the sale of Dalco, its Dutch vegan and vegetarian food manufacturing business, for £5.4m to plant-based foods company Livekindly. Dalco, based in Oosterhout in the Netherlands and employing more than 150 staff, produced meat-alternative products including sausages, meatballs, nuggets, and burgers for private-label clients. Hilton had previously flagged the "underperformance of the Dalco business" and had recognised write-downs on the unit in earlier financial years. Hilton attributed the profit upgrade to the removal of Dalco's losses and favourable year-on-year foreign currency movements. The company packages beef, lamb, and fish for major supermarket customers and also operates a Dutch smoked salmon business, Foppen, which has seen "disappointing" weakness in demand. The disposal and profit upgrade mark a deliberate strategic pivot back to Hilton's core red meat and protein packaging operations, with management framing the move as reinforcing "leadership in red meat." For listed-company lawyers, the profit guidance revision triggers disclosure obligations under market abuse rules applicable to FTSE 250 issuers.