Vivendi Universal has announced a better-than-expected 10% rise in revenues for 2001, to Euros 57.4bn, and is expecting a further 10% increase in 2002.

News of the results, some Euros 1bn better than expected, boosted the company's share price by 2.9% to Euros 48.2 on Feb 11.

Revenues from film and broadcasting activities, which reached Euros 9.5bn, provided for a 8% growth, mostly due to a 14% rise in Canal Plus' French digital satellite platform CanalSatellite's subscriber base. The Canal Plus Group itself saw a 13% hike.

The media and communication side of VU's businesses accounted for more than Euros 28.9bn (almost on a par with its environmental activities which passed the Euros 29bn mark) - with the communication sector providing 24% of the growth.