Vivendi has reported revenues of EUR 4.49 billion in the three months to December, of which 47 percent was generated by Universal Music Group (UMG). Organic revenue growth was stable at 0.7 percent year-on-year, unchanged since Q3, as UMG maintained its positive performance (+5.4% from +6.1% in Q3) offsetting a slight contraction at broadcaster Canal Plus (-1.1% from +0.9% in Q3).
Vivendi's full-year revenues dipped slightly (-0.6%) organically to EUR 16.09 billion, while EBITA progressed by 3.7 percent to EUR 1.63 billion (+6.6% on a reported basis). UMG's EBITA amounted to EUR 1.33 billion, up 20.1 percent organically. Canal Plus' profitability also improved compared to 2019, with EBITA up 5.2 percent to EUR 435 million (+26.7% on a reported basis).
In France, Canal Plus' core market, the broadcaster saw its full-year revenues drop by 1.6 percent to EUR 3.0 billion. The French pay-TV customer base increased both sequentially and from Q4 2019, closing 2020 with 8.68 million subscribers, of which 3.44 million via wholesale partners. In the twelve months to December, overall French subscriptions achieved a net increase of 262,000, after the 195,000 net loss suffered in 2019.
Canal Plus' international operations had a combined customer base of 13.09 million at end-2020, of which 5.98 million were in Africa. Globally, the group reached a subscriber portfolio across individual and collective contracts of 21.76 million at end-December, up from 20.29 million a year earlier.
During the presentation of the financial results, Vivendi’s executive Arnaud de Puyfontaine said that the group was considering with interest the possibility to acquire a stake in French broadcaster M6, following news that German media company Bertelsmann is considering selling its controlling interest in the company.
