Pilgrim’s Europe’s has reported a 21% increase in profits, despite a slight drop in revenue for 2024.
In the first full-year trading period since the integration of Pilgrim’s UK, Moy Park, and Pilgrim’s Food Masters into the unified Pilgrim’s Europe structure, the pork, chicken and lamb producer saw revenues fall from 4.18bn in 2023 to 4.06bn.
However, profits increased from £106m in 2023 to £128.4m after tax, with profit margins up from 4.2% in 2023 to 6% in 2024.
The company said its strong performance was supported by investment in its brands and infrastructure throughout the year, driving efficiencies and enhancing mix while helping customers outperform sections of the market.
Investment
The business made £109m in strategic capex investments over FY2024, including:
- £19m investment in its fresh and value-added pork division, with new slow-cooked capabilities at Bodmin, slicing automation at Corsham, new slicing and packing technology at King’s Lynn and investment in the company’s Westerleigh and Spalding processing sites.
- Launch of a 3 year £40m investment programme across key poultry sites at Anwick, Ashbourne, Ballymena, Craigavon and Dungannon, aimed at expanding fresh and ready to eat poultry capacity for core retail and foodservice customers.
- £12m investment in its Meal business as part of a £40m multi-year investment programme including upgrades to meals production facilities at Windmill Lane and Attleborough.
- As part of its integration strategy, it opened a new Shared Services centre in Northern Ireland in June 2024 and this year invested in a new corporate headquarters in Uxbridge.
Customer focus
Pilgrim’s Europe President Ivan Siqueira said: “The results demonstrate how integration over the past two years has strengthened Pilgrim’s Europe’s marketplace presence while cultivating a more nimble, customer-focused organisation to further scale profitable growth in 2025 and beyond.”
“We’re proud to deliver a strong performance in our first full year as Pilgrim’s Europe. We’ve cultivated profitable growth by simplifying our structure, optimising our footprint, and investing behind our brands.
“The combination of innovation, deep customer partnerships and a growing branded offer has helped us outperform the market in several key categories.”
Farmer commitments
Pilgrim’s Europe recently announced 20-year contracts for farmers in its pig supply chain, providing them with long-term, sustainable support.
The company was first-to-market supporting Waitrose’s move to 100% Better Chicken Commitment higher welfare standard in April 2025 and recently announced a new 10-year pork supply deal with the premium UK retailer.
It said this investment was intended to help ‘secure supply and drive productivity, welfare and sustainability which has directly supported commercial growth’.
Fabio Brancher, Agriculture Director, said: “Delivering sustainable profitability within our business allows us to take steps to address some of the fundamental issues we see in our sector, most notably short-term thinking in an industry that requires long-term investment.
“Our new 20-year farmer contracts are a clear demonstration of how we’re giving those considering diversification into pig production or existing producers looking to expand a unique opportunity to build a business with guaranteed long-term profitability.”
Retail performance
In 2024, net sales in key brands grew 5.7% year-on-year in Pilgrim’s £400m branded portfolio and this momentum has continued in 2025.
Fridge Raiders broke into The Grocers Biggest Brands Top100 for the first time and outpaced category growth in volume and value at +7% and +6.6% in the second quarter 2025, while Rollover posted double-digit value gains (11.2%), supported by expanded listings and NPD into chicken formats.
Innovation has helped fuel this growth and now contributes over 6% of total net sales. The company introduced over 700 new products across its private label and branded portfolio in 202 and this momentum has continued in the first half of 2025 with a further 350 new products launched in the period and a continued focus on key brand expansion.
Retail demand remained stable through FY24 and into the first half of 2025, with poultry and chilled ready meals performing well.
Lamb and pork categories experienced some reduced demand to end quarter two 2025 attributed to higher price points amidst ongoing cost of living pressures for consumers and national insurance hikes for companies. These impacted both consumer sentiment and demand.