Vivendi financials sag

Vivendi Universal released revenue figures for calendar Q4 2003 and full year 2003. On all fronts, except for its telecom units, sales were off--in some cases dramatically.

Sales in the VU Games division were down by 13 percent, or 38 million euros ($35.1 million), compared to the same quarter a year ago. For the quarter ending December 31, 2003, the division's revenues were 254 million euros ($318.6 million), compared to 292 million euros ($366.3 million) for the previous year. The decline can be attributed to what Reuters is calling lower-than-expected sales during the holiday season and "uncertainty" surrounding the parent company's decision to first sell, then hold on to, its games division.

As reported previously in GameSpot, the game division was put under new leadership last month when Vivendi CEO Jean-Rene Fourtou replaced VU Games' chairman and CEO Ken Cron with Rene Penisson and Bruce Hack.

Vivendi divisions that fared even worse that the games unit were Universal Music, which posted sales 19 percent below the previous year's quarter, and its pay TV arm, Canal Plus, which saw sales tumble 26 percent.