Vivendi 2010 profits up 4.4%
But analysts unmoved by Activision majority shareholder's performance
Activision-Blizzard majority shareholder Vivendi SA has announced net income of $3.7 billion for 2010 - a modest increase of 4.4 per cent from the previous year.
The French firm attributed the growth to strong performance from its Call of Duty and Blizzard businesses, as well as products in Brazil. Activision sales were up 9.6 per cent in 2010, but the publisher last month embarked on a dramatic restructuring which involved the axing of much of its console business.
Vivendi's largest division is French mobile phone network SFR, of which it is currently seeking to gain 100 per cent ownership. 44 per cent of SFR is owned by the Vodafone Group.
While the results were in line with analysts' expectations, shares fell as much as 2.8 per cent upon the news. "The guidance is nothing to get too excited about," Kepler Capital Markets analyst Conor O'Shea told Bloomberg.