Ahead of its first General Meeting and six months into its listing, Canal+ is well positioned on its trajectory as a global media and entertainment leader. Mid-year, the Company is able to confirm its 2025 outlook on revenue and EBITA, with a material 2025 one-off cash improvement and structural cash improvements expected for the future.
As such, the Company confirms it is on track to deliver organic growth in 2025, more than offset by the termination of C8 channel and some contracts, as expected.
As part of its ongoing cost optimization assessment to deliver enhanced operational leverage and supported by the advanced transition to profitability of its newly integrated assets, Canal+ anticipates 2025 Group EBITA to reach approximately €515 million, in line with expectations.
In addition to its ongoing work on profitability and on improving cash generation ahead of its MultiChoice acquisition project, the Group began a thorough review of all processes to ensure lasting optimized efficiencies. This in-depth work on existing processes, supported by the Group's new organizational structure, has started generating structural savings, which will gradually consolidate over time.
The Company has also recently focused on opportunistically strengthening its balance sheet ahead of the acquisition project of MultiChoice Group through an all-cash Mandatory Tender Offer. As such, the Company has effectively optimized the phasing of payment terms on various contracts, resulting in an exceptional one-off improvement in working capital, which is expected to meaningfully increase CFFO this year.
Following the progress made on the proposed restructuring plan, the Company now anticipates lower than expected restructuring disbursements in 2025, leading to an additional positive net effect on 2025 CFFO. The remaining restructuring cash spend is expected to take place in 2026. As a result, the Group now expects its 2025 CFFO to exceed €500 million. Although the Group does not expect its one-off contract phasing update to structurally impact CFFO beyond 2025, it is confident that the positive cash effects of its various other initiatives will start ramping up in 2026, including the renewed French cinema financing agreement, the decrease in costs in France and the profitability improvement of its new assets – GVA and Dailymotion.
The Group remains committed to delivering sustainable shareholder returns and strongly believes that a disciplined approach to organic and inorganic profitable growth and cash generation, supported by a strong balance sheet, will deliver meaningful long-term shareholder value. Once and if the proposed Mandatory Tender Offer on MultiChoice Group is completed, the Company will consider its capital allocation policy based on the actual outcome of the envisaged Offer and the updated financial profile of the combined entity.
The Group is looking to provide return to shareholders through a progressive dividend policy, while potentially considering share buyback opportunities in due time, and has demonstrated its commitment towards its shareholders by offering dividends starting from year one of being a listed company.
As part of its litigation proceedings, the Company engages in active discussions with relevant authorities on VAT matters.
As previously reported in the 2024 Annual Report, the Group had also legally challenged the rules applied by the Centre national du Cinéma et de l'image animée ("CNC") to the determination of the tax basis of the French Tax on Television Services (the "French TST").
Canal+ is pleased to have reached an agreement with the CNC regarding the rules applicable to determining the tax basis of the French TST, which settles the disputes relating to past fiscal years and removes uncertainty regarding the possibility of a material additional disbursement. As a result, the Group expects no impact on cash, with a one-off impact on its income statement in H1 2025 in the form of exceptional charges. As a reminder, the Company's H1 2025 results are scheduled to be released on 29ᵗʰ July 2025.