PARIS, France (CelebrityAccess) — Entertainment giant Vivendi reported that its core operating profit jumped by 23 percent over the last year, driven in large part by strong performance at its Universal Music Group subsidiary.
Universal Music Group posted revenue of €5.673 billion, up 10.0% (all figures cited at constant currency) compared to their performance in 2016.
Revenue growth was driven by recorded music, which improved by 11.3% over the previous year, while growth in subscription and streaming revenues were up by 35.4%, more than offsetting declines in both download and physical sales, the company reported.
Music publishing revenues grew by 9.6% for the year, also propelled by streaming as well as growth in synchronization and performance revenues.
However, merchandising and other revenues were down 7.1% slid for the year, due to fewer UMG artists actively touring during the period.
Income was up for UMG as well, with the company reporting an improvement of 18.5% to €798 million in operating income, while UMG’s EBITA amounted to €761 million, up 20.6% from the previous year.
Recorded music best sellers for UMG this year included new releases from Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar and Drake, carryover sales from The Weeknd, the Despacito single from Luis Fonsi and the 50th Anniversary edition of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles, as well as soundtrack releases from the movies Moana and La La Land.
The year also saw UMG strike key strategic deals with partners over the year, including Chinese search giant and music streamer Tencent, and new agreements with Spotify and YouTube. UMG also made a content deal with Facebook, marking the first true commercial partnership between a major music company and the social media behemoth.
