Vivendi Posts Rise in Adjusted Earnings

PARIS-- Vivendi SA on Tuesday reported a rise in first-quarter adjusted earnings, but said net profit fell sharply without the income from telecommunications assets it has sold off.

Vivendi--which in recent years has substantially slimmed down from a telecommunications to broadcasting conglomerate to a company with activities mainly in pay TV and music recording--said net profit slipped to EUR33 million ($37 million), compared with EUR431 million a year earlier, when the company was still profiting from companies it had agreed to sell, such as French telecommunications firm SFR.

Vivendi has in recent years sold an array of assets from telecoms to videogames, and is now seeking to rebuild itself into a large European media company under the tight leadership of chairman and largest individual shareholder, Vincent Bolloré.

Excluding the impact of the disposed asset sales, adjusted earnings before interest and taxes rose 18% on the year to EUR218 million.

Sales at the group rose 7.6% to EUR2.49 billion, also excluding disposed assets.

The group's Universal Music Group posted sales that were up 11% to EUR1.1 billion from a year earlier, largely on the strength of the dollar, but with online streaming revenue outpacing declines in physical sales and digital downloads.

French pay-TV group Canal Plus increased revenue by 4.0% to EUR1.37 billion, with rising subscriber numbers primarily in Africa and Vietnam, the company said.

Write to Ruth Bender at [e-mail]

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