French billionaire Emmanuel Besnier, known in global media as the 'Cheese King of France,' is shifting the financial strategy of his Kazakhstan asset. FoodMaster Company JSC has approved the profit distribution for 2025. Dividend payments to the foreign owner from the Forbes list have been significantly reduced, with the bulk of funds to be reinvested in upgrading production facilities within Kazakhstan, reports infohub.kz.
According to the sole shareholder's decision dated August 24, 2026, the company's accumulated profit at the end of 2025 stood at 12.07 billion tenge. A total of 8.2 billion tenge will be allocated to production modernization projects. Dividends to the sole shareholder will amount to 3.86 billion tenge (2,934.37 tenge per ordinary share).
Compared to 2024, the company's financial priorities have shifted dramatically. A year earlier, the enterprise paid out 6.23 billion tenge in dividends, leaving a symbolic nine million tenge for production development. Thus, investment in modernization has increased hundreds of times, while shareholder payouts have dropped by 38%.
Dividends for 2025 will be paid in a single non-cash transfer in euros. Funds will be remitted by October 15, 2026, to the accounts of Belgian company B.S.A. INTERNATIONAL at Societe Generale France.
The corporate document also states that no remuneration is paid to board members. Payments to the company's executive body for 2025, after taxes and mandatory deductions, amounted to 841,000 tenge (compared to 875,000 tenge the previous year).
Forvis Mazars LLP has been reappointed as the auditor of the annual financial statements for 2026, as in the previous period.
B.S.A. International is a Belgian holding entity that serves as the sole shareholder of FoodMaster Company JSC. Registered in Brussels, it is part of the French dairy group Lactalis, controlled by the Besnier family.
The main beneficiary of the business is Emmanuel Besnier. According to the global Forbes ranking, he holds the 88th spot among the world's richest people, with a personal fortune of $28.3 billion. In international media, the businessman is traditionally referred to as the 'Cheese King of France.'
FoodMaster is one of Kazakhstan's largest dairy producers. The company manufactures milk, kefir, yogurts, and cottage cheese. Its portfolio also includes international brands such as Lactel, President, and Galbani. Production sites are located in three cities: Esik, Shymkent, and Pavlodar, with plants capable of producing hundreds of tons of products daily. The company also operates its own dairy farms.