Vivendi posts 5.8% organic growth
Vivendi, the parent company of Havas, Canal+ and Lagardère, has posted 5.8% year-on-year organic growth for the first half of the year.
Revenue reached €9.05bn in H1, driven by “excellent performances” of Lagardère and Canal+. The two divisions recorded organic growth of 10.1% and 3.2% respectively, with Havas posting “a slight increase” in organic revenue.
Inorganic growth for the group in H1 was 92.7% compared with H1 2023, mostly driven by the consolidation of Lagardère that contributed €4.19m to the balance sheet.
Group Ebita, a measure of profitability, was up 13.5% in H1 compared with a year earlier due to the impact of this, alongside growth for Havas.
Havas
Havas’ net revenue in H1 reached €1.31bn, with “strong performances” in the creative and media divisions and “strong organic growth” in all regions compared with H1 2023, except for North America, where net revenue decreased 6.4%.
The report highlighted the positive impact of acquisitions at 3.5%, including contributions from Uncommon Creative Studio, Eprofessional and Ledger Bennett.
Earlier this year, Havas announced a new strategic plan known as Converged, with an accompanying investment of €400m in data, technology and AI over the next four years to reinforce its client-centric approach.
Canal+
In H1, Canal+ turnover amounted to €3.1bn — amounting to organic growth of 3.2%, driven by “all activities”.
In mainland France, revenue from TV activities increased by 3.4% at constant exchange rates, thanks to growth in subscriber base and average revenue per user.
Internationally, turnover went up by 2.6% at constant exchange rates, also supported by a rise in the number of subscribers.
Studio Canal saw its turnover increase by 4.7% organically, thanks to a good performance from Back to Black in April.
Canal+’s profitability remained stable, with adjusted operating income (Ebita) of €337m, down slightly by 1.9%.
Lagardère
Lagardère posted a net loss of €20m, despite a 10.1% like-for-like increase in revenue, linked to costs related to its integration with Vivendi.
The publishing division, including Hachette Livre, generated €1.3bn in turnover, up 4.5% organically, driven by “dynamic activity” in the US and the UK.
Other activities, including magazines JDD, Paris Match and Elle, as well as radio station Europe 1, saw turnover increase by 9.2% to €136m, benefiting in particular from the recovery in audiences for Europe 1.
Split project
Yannick Bolloré, chairman of Vivendi’s supervisory board, described the H1 results as “significantly improved”, driven by its three main businesses.
Earlier this week, Vivendi announced plans related to its “split project”, where it intends to list Havas, Canal+ and Lagardère on separate stock exchanges In Amsterdam, London and Paris respectively later this year, pending employee and shareholder consultation.
A version of this article first appeared in The Media Leader France