Vivendi reports $1bn loss
March 9, 2023
By Chris Forrester
French media giant Vivendi has reported a $1.07 billion (€1.01 bn) loss for its 2022 trading year, which it blamed in part on its deconsolidation of its stake in Telecom Italia.
The loss compares with its profits of $25.9 billion (€24.6bn) in 2021 and that influenced by it spinning off its 60 per cent stake in Universal Music Group.
Nevertheless, Vivendi stressed that its overall revenues grew healthily helped by trading at ad-agency Havas and Canal+ Group as well as a “high contribution” from Gameloft.
In 2022, Vivendi’s revenues were €9.59 billion, an increase of 10.1 per cent compared to 2021, due to the performance of Havas (+€424 million), the growth of Canal+ Group (€100 million) and the strong increase of Gameloft (€56 million).
At the end of December 2022, Canal+ Group’s total subscriber portfolio (individual and collective) reached 25.5 million, compared to 23.7 million at the end of December 2021. In 2022, Canal+ Group’s revenues were €5.87 billion, up 1.7 per cent compared to the end of December 2021 (+0.3 per cent at constant currency and perimeter).
Revenues from C+ international operations increased by 3.5 per cent at constant currency and perimeter compared to 2021, thanks again to the significant growth in the number of subscribers (+1.3 million year-on-year). The total subscriber portfolio outside mainland France stood at 16 million subscribers at the end of December 2022.
Revenues from television operations in mainland France increased by 1.6 per cent at constant currency and perimeter compared to 2021, driven mainly by further growth in the subscriber base. The total subscriber base in mainland France recorded a net increase in subscribers of 457,000 over the past twelve months and reached 9.5 million subscribers.
Yannick Bolloré, Chairman of Vivendi’s Supervisory Board, commented: “2022 was a solid year for Vivendi. Our main businesses have shown considerable dynamism, ensuring the group’s more than satisfactory performance even with the exit of Universal Music Group (UMG) from our consolidation scope in 2021. On behalf of the group’s Supervisory Board, I want to congratulate all the Vivendi teams for contributing to this performance. I would also like to thank all our customers, talents, authors, and creative teams for their trust.”
“We have made good progress in implementing our strategic roadmap, which focuses on transformation, internationalisation and greater integration of our businesses. The record result posted by Gameloft in 2022 is an excellent example of this, with the success of its transformation by making video games available on all platforms,” he continued. Vivendi’s international development, accompanied by a strong local presence, continued in 2022, making it more agile in a highly competitive environment. Havas made eight targeted acquisitions in Europe, Australia, and China. Canal+ Group strengthened its position on the European continent and in Africa. The planned transaction with the Lagardère group is part of this internationalisation process,” Bolloré added.