Studiocanal parent company Canal+ posted £446m in revenues in its first financial report since listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in December.
The parent of It’s A Sin producer Red Production Company – which it closed last month - said it is “on track for a successful first year as a listed business” after joining the exchange in December 2024.
Canal+ said that for the financial year 2025, its revenue is in line with expectations, with earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization (EBITA) expected at around €515m (£446m).
After disposing of Red, Canal+ subsidiary StudioCanal now holds stakes (directly or through other entities of the group) in 18 production companies, including UK indies Urban Myth Films, Strong Film & Television, Benedict Cumberbatch’s company SunnyMarch, and Birdie Pictures.
In its unaudited half-year results for the six months ending 30 June 2025, Canal+ revealed that its subscriber base in Europe fell by 1% to 16.8 million.
However, the backer of film and TV hits including Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy and Netflix crime drama A Widow’s Game, made by its Spanish company Bambú Producciones, said its focus on profitability has put it in a strong position at the half-year.
Canal+’s direct-to-consumer customer base increased by 0.2%, despite non-renewal of L1 and Disney deals in France.
It said the performance demonstrated “high customer loyalty and a successful new customer acquisition strategy” which includes targeting young audiences, distribution agreements with Internet Service Providers and “the continued strengthening of our content value proposition”.
Overall, Canal+’s total subscriber numbers declined by 323,000, bringing the total to 25.7 million as of 30 June 2025.
While revenues were down 3.3% on a reported basis, that accounts for “discontinued contracts and activities (termination of Disney contract, UEFA Champions League sublicensing partnership and closure of C8 channel)”.
For the first half of 2025, the group generated what it described as “very strong” CFFO [cash flow from operating activities] of €416m (£360m) driven by numerous cash optimisation initiatives (on payment terms, inventories management and revenues collection) and reversal effect of prepayments made during the second half of 2024.
Canal+ forecasts CFFO to be above €500m (£433m) in 2025, partly driven by a one-off improvement related to “payment phasing optimisation”.
This month, the group completed its first debt facility since listing on the LSE, raising €285m (£247m) in financing, more than double the initial launch of volume of €125m (£108m) due to higher-than-expected demand.
Canal+ explained: “The issuance was highly oversubscribed with an order book consisting of high-quality French and international investors, demonstrating strong interest and confidence of investors in the financial profile and strategic direction of Canal+.”
In the past six months, Canal+ has extended its Netflix partnership into 24 French-speaking African countries, created labels to foster development of IP into other entertainment categories, including Paddington the Musical, and produced the world’s first immersive video documentary for Apple Vision Pro.
It has also ensured the Canal+ app is available on all major manufacturers of connected TVs.
Meanwhile, South African competition authorities have approved the company’s acquisition of MultiChoice Group, which is due to close by 8 October.
Canal+ chief executive Maxime Saada said: “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.”
This story first appeared on Screen’s sister site Broadcast
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