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Moy Park’s parent owner has taken £124.5 million in dividends from the Craigavon-based poultry business since March this year, newly disclosed financial documents reveal.
The dividend, which was taken in two lumps of £50.6m and £73.9m, was paid on March 24 and June 24 2025 in respect of the profits earned during the year ending December 29 2024.
It followed a year of soaring profit at the poultry maker.
The latest annual accounts for Moy Park Holdings (Europe) reveal the company’s pre-tax profit rose 40% last year to £98.5m, an annual uplift of just over £28m, and more than five times the pre-tax profit the company registered in 2022.
A tax bill of £18.8m left the group with a bottom line profit of £79.7m for 2024, a 50% increase (£26.6m) on the bottom line from 2023.
The rising profits came in a year when Moy Park’s revenue actually fell 3.8% to £1.96 billion.
The food group broke new ground last year when it became the first Northern Ireland domiciled business to break the £2bn revenue barrier.
The latest annual report shows Moy Park’s workforce expanded to 9,320 people in 2024 across its 12 processing sites in Northern Ireland, England, France and the Netherlands.
Staff costs increased from £316.5m to £327.8m year-on-year.
Moy Park previously cut its workforce by 641 people in 2023.
It remains one of Northern Ireland’s largest private sector employers, with around 5,000 people based across its headquarters in Craigavon; corporate office at Rushmere; and three manufacturing facilities in Ballymena; Dungannon and Enniskillen.
The business, which now trades as Pilgrim’s Europe, has been owned by the Colorado-based Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation since it was acquired for £1bn in 2017.
But its ultimate owner is the Brazilian food giant JBS SA, the largest meat-packing company in the world.
JBS is ultimately controlled by the Sao Paulo-based Batista family, comprised of Joesley Mendonça Batista and his brother Wesley Mendonça Batista.
In a summary of its 2024 performance, Moy Park’s directors said: “Although the market continued to be challenging, operational improvements and securing contracts with key customers resulted in increased profitability.
“Unrelenting focus on cost control, excellent customer relationships and a culture of constant innovation, in an ever changing competitive landscape mitigated some of these challenges.”
Looking ahead, the group said: “Following a year of significant improvement, we are pleased that 2024 is continuing to show positive progress for Moy Park with our focus on innovation and effective cost control.”
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