Vivendi saw its net income rise by 17.9% in 2006 to reach €2.6 billion, while its earnings were up by 27.9% to €4 billion. 2006 was a particularly good year for the Canal+ Group, which saw its EBITDA grow to €251 million, excluding the transition costs of the TPS merger in France. The figure represented a 21.8% increase on the 2005 total. Although EBITDA in 2006 rose by 46% in France itself, it was slightly down for Canal+ operations elsewhere including Poland, where the company operates one of the country’s three DTH platforms.
Canal recorded 5.14 million subscriptions at the end of 2006, an increase of 76,000 over the past 12 months, with the total of 646,000 new subscribers providing the best performance since 1987. (CD)