Vivendi 3Q Earnings Beat Analysts' Estimates

By Nick Kostov

PARIS-Media group Vivendi SA posted third-quarter earnings that topped analyst' estimates as its Universal Music Group unit benefited from a jump in online streaming and subscriptions.

Adjusted net income was 339 million euros, swinging into the black compared with the same period last year, Vivendi said Wednesday. Analysts had predicted profit of EUR177.2 million, the average of six estimates.

Vivendi's earnings before interest, taxes and amortization, a measure of profitability closely watched by analysts, rose 27% to EUR277 million, pushed higher by a doubling of its core earnings at its music business, Universal Music Group.

Revenue rose 6% to EUR2.67 billion.

Run by Chairman Vincent Bolloré, Vivendi is seeking to piece together a media empire focused on Southern Europe with interests in TV, music and video games. But Mr. Bolloré has ruffled feathers in recent months, falling out with the founders and managers at video game publisher Ubisoft SA and more recently with Mediaset SpA.

Its Canal Plus unit, which accounts for more than half of the company's sales, has suffered from competition for sports rights and from online video services. The unit is set to completely overhaul its offers this month and its turnaround plan in France is "well underway," the company said in the earnings release.

Universal Music Group, meanwhile, has been the bright spot, thanks to a large jump in online streaming which easily offset continuing declines in sales of CDs and digital downloads. As a result of the expansion of streaming, Universal Music Group is expanding in a number of markets, including China, Russia, Brazil and Africa, Vivendi said.

-Write to Nick Kostov at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 09, 2016 12:25 ET (17:25 GMT)

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