By Jonathan Easton
French media group Vivendi has seen a successful Q3 as a result of growth at pay TV business Canal+.
Canal+ is now Vivendi’s biggest business unit following the spin-off of Universal Music Group earlier this year.
Overall, Vivendi’s revenue grew to €2.48 billion(US$2.89 billion), beating analyst expectations of €2.26 billion. Its Q3 sales rose by 10 per cent from the year prior.
Its total sales for the quarter totalled €1.47 billion, with the bulk of that coming from Canal+. Sales at the pay TV unit grew 6.3 per cent pro forma. This was buoyed by global results and a 35 per cent increase at Studiocanal.
Revenues from television operations in mainland France amounted to €2.29 billion, up slightly compared to the first nine months of 2020. Revenues from international operations also increased, rising from €1.59 billion for the first nine months of 2020 to €1.63 billion for the first nine months of 2021.
However it was the French ad unit Havas Group which experienced the biggest growth. Its revenues increased 21.8 per cent to €590 million. Its revenue grew organically at a 17.8 per cent rate, with Europe and North America the biggest contributors at 18.4 per cent and 15.5 per cent organic growth respectively.
