Sales Slide As Vivendi Sheds Assets

French media and telecoms firm Vivendi Universal has announced a 59% drop in third quarter sales following structural changes at the group.

Vivendi reported sales of €5.90, down from €14.55 in the same period last year. The 2002 figure included revenues from units such as Veolia Entertainment and Vivendi Universal Publishing which have since been sold.

Excluding divestments, pro-forma sales were down 7% as encouraging growth at the telecoms arm Cegetel failed to offset weakness in other divisions.

Despite declining sales and the fall in the dollar against the euro, Vivendi reiterated its earnings targets for the full year, saying that it expects a significant rise in operating profits, growth in cash flow from operations and a return to profit.

The company recently agreed to sell its US entertainment assets to NBC and hopes to reduce net debt from €13 billion to €5 billion during the course of 2004.