The Irish-based European headquarters of Facebook and Instagram’s owner paid a €900 million dividend last year to its immediate parent last year as sales and net profit rose.
Meta Platforms Ireland’s turnover, almost all of which was generated by advertising across its social media and messenger platforms, rose 20 per cent in 2023 to €69.7 billion, according to accounts filed this week with the Companies Registration Office (CRO).
Net profit for the year rose 29 per cent to €1.56 billion, after the company recorded a €288.4 million tax charge.
Still, the dividend payout was down from €3.7 billion handed over to it immediate parent, Facebook International Operations, a year earlier. The statement also shows that Meta Platform Ireland’s board approved a further €600 million distribution in March.
Meta Platforms Ireland, led by chief executive Anne O’Leary, also disclosed it booked €143.7 million of provisions to cover potential administrative fines stemming from regulatory compliance investigations. The figure was down from €2.91 billion set aside in 2022.
The company also either used up or released some €613.6 million of provisions that had previously been set aside. However, it did not provide further details.
The firm is currently pursuing a High Court challenge against a decision by the Data Protection Commission (DPC) in May last year to imposed a record €1.2 billion fine on it for violating European privacy rules. It followed a long investigation into transfers by Facebook of Europeans’ personal data to the US.
The Irish watchdog had not proposed a financial penalty against Meta in its original draft decision in the case but was “instructed” to impose a fine after a dispute resolution process at the European Data Protection Board, the body of almost 50 national and regional data regulators that must approve any cross-border penalties for data violations.
Separately, the DPC reprimanded and imposed a fine of €91 million the company two months ago for improperly storing user passwords.
Average headcount at Meta Platforms Ireland fell by 18 per cent last year to 2,171 in 2023 amid cost-cutting across the wider Meta group. It recorded €40.4 million of severance expenses, up from €22.5 million for the previous year.
Meta entered a 25-year lease in 2018 for the 34,838 sq m (375,000 sq ft) Fibonacci Square office project on the grounds of AIB’s former headquarters in Ballsbridge, but decided in late 2022 not to occupy the space.
However, the US tech giant leases and occupies 31,536 sq m of office space across the four existing blocks behind the Fibonacci Square development. This was officially opened in October 2023.
Meanwhile, Google Ireland, the European base for US internet search giant Alphabet, this week reported that its net profit jumped 91 per cent last year to €2.98 billion. It paid a €5 billion dividend during the period and followed up with an interim payment of €4.5 billion this year.
- Sign up for the Business Today newsletter and get the latest business news and commentary in your inbox every weekday morning
- Opt in to Business push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Our Inside Business podcast is published weekly – Find the latest episode here
