Canal+ has posted half-year revenue of €3.08B ($3.57B), down 3.3% year-on-year on a reported basis, but is telling shareholders earnings are expected to get a “significant” increase in H2.
The Paris-based TV and film giant, which listed on the London Stock Exchange in December, said organic revenue was actually up 0.9%, but that the termination of a contract with Disney, a UEFA Champions League sublicensing deal and the close of the C8 channel had dragged the overall number down.
Earnings before interest, tax and amortization were €246M, which was lower than 2024 but in line with expectations. Canal+ said it was on track to post full-year EBITA of €515M, in line with guidance, and that revenue would also end in line with expectations.
Furthermore, Canal+ has raised €285M after issuing its first Schuldschein loan (a private placement loan issued under German law that companies can issue as an alternative to other types of debt facilities). The company said the orderbook was a “highly oversubscribed” group of French and international investors, “demonstrating strong interest and confidence.”
Studiocanal, Canal+’s production and distribution division, saw revenue fall compared with H1 2024. The Content Production, Distribution and Other segment, which also includes streamer Dailymotion, came in at €324M, down from €333M last tear, though adjusted EBITA before exceptional items was up from €22M to €30M.
The revenue dip was put down to “phasing for international sales” and a smaller lineup of “major deliveries” such as last year’s Back to Black and Wicked Little Letters. Early year TV sales in 2024 also played a part, but was partially offset by the theatrical releases of Paddington in Peru, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy and We Live in Time, along with “significant” sales of Wild Lands.
Canal+’s share price was this morning trading at 239.6p ($3.19), which is its highest point since listing. This is still well below the opening 290p price when it debuted on the LSX, but CEO Maxime Saada can point to a steady uptick over recent months, with the acquisition of MultiChoice now firmly on the horizon following a regulatory greenlight earlier this month.
Canal+, which already owns over a third of MultiChoice, is due to pay 35 billion rand ($2B) to acquire the business, with shares valued at 125 rand each. The deal values MultiChoice at around 55 billion rand and is set to close on October 8.
“I am pleased with all we have accomplished at Canal+ since our listing,” said Saada. “We are on track to achieve organic revenue growth in 2025. Our focus on profitability and cash has started delivering structural improvements, put us in a strong position at the half year, and enabled us to confirm our upgraded guidance for both EBITA and CFFO for 2025.
“Our strategy of bringing our in-house content together with content from the world’s best studios, sports competitions and streaming platforms, and super-aggregating it all on our enhanced Canal+ app for the benefit of our customers, provides us with a unique value proposition. We are now taking super-aggregation beyond Europe by extending our historic partnership with Netflix to 24 French-speaking African countries, the first deal of its kind on the continent.”
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