Canal Plus could post an operating loss of over EUR 400 million this year unless it makes some changes, Vivendi supervisory board chairman Vincent Bollore told shareholders at the group’s AGM, where he presented Vivendi's evolution since last year, its challenges and strategy to become a "large international media and content group with a European essence.”
Bollore told shareholders that he thinks it will be possible to turn Canal Plus around and make it a key part of its project to be a “media and content champion”, but that Vivendi will not be able to finance its losses for long, La Tribune reports. “It depends how much time they will lose money, whether we will be able to carry BeIn Sports, if losses continue, there could be a time when we will have to close the tap.” He added that Canal Plus was in debt for around EUR 1 billion and that free-to-air channels D8 and D17 were profitable but the iTele news channel was not.
Canal Plus’s six pay channels have been in the red since 2012 and are expected to post a EUR 410 million loss this year. On the other hand, Vivendi can expect EUR 550 million of profit from Canal Overseas, CanalSat, StudioCanal, D8 and D17, writes Les Echos. The company is also investing heavily in sport under its new agreement to be the exclusive platform for BeIn's channels.
Vivendi’s AGM also approved the distribution of a EUR 3 dividend for 2015, two-thirds of which was paid in interim dividends. Shareholders ratified the appointments of Cathia Lawson-Hall and Philippe Donnet to the supervisory board.
