Vivendi reports 78 percent profit plunge
French media and telecommunications group Vivendi on Thursday reported a 78 percent plunge in third quarter net earnings but said operating results were up 5.1 percent and should show "strong growth" for the full year.
The group said sales had fallen 2.5 percent to 6.3 billion euros (9.4 billion dollars) from the same period last year, slightly better than the 6.25 billion euros foreseen by analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires.
Net profit fell 78.3 percent to 600 million euros while at the operating level income rose 5.1 percent to 1.34 billion euros.
A company's operating income is the difference between sales and costs excluding income derived from sources other than its core business.
Vivendi said it expected "strong growth" in operating earnings this year beyond the 4.9 percent gain recorded in 2008.
Copyright 2009 AFP Global Edition
