A trio of foreign quarterly earnings challenge the mood of the stock exchanges, down in Asia and Europe on fears of the recovery of Covid in China and the Fed's restrictive monetary policy. Let's see the main foreign quarterly presented on April 25th.
Foreign quarterly: Vivendi sale. De Puyfontaine: Italy priority
French media group Vivendi released its quarterly report and held its annual shareholders' meeting. Vivendi had sales of €2,38 billion in the first quarter, up 7,9% year-on-year at constant exchange rates and excluding acquisitions. In the same period of 2021, the number of visitors stopped at 2,1 billion.
The Canal Plus pay-TV division, the company's most important asset after the Universal Music Group spin-off, reported a 6% increase in sales to €1,45 billion. Sales of Havas, the advertising unit of the group, also did well, increasing by 11,3% to 591 million euros.
ALSO READ: Universal breaks the bank in Amsterdam: +35% on debut
“We know that the health, geopolitical and economic context is uncertain, but we are solid enough to go through any new crises and face current or future difficulties over time, as was the case in Italy”. These are the words of Vivendi's CEO, Arnaud de Puyfontaine, during the group meeting. The manager recalled the purchase offer on Lagardère, which aims to create a media and content giant. There was also a mention of Italy – where Vivendi is Tim's main shareholder – which "represents more than ever a priority for the development of our group".
Foreign quarterly: Roche sells more drugs
From France to Switzerland, a positive quarter for the Roche pharmaceutical group. Sales are up 10% to 16,44 billion Swiss francs. This was communicated by the company which in the same period of 2021 had achieved sales of 14,93 billion Swiss francs. Sales were driven by the performance of drugs including Ocrevus for multiple sclerosis and Hemlibra for hemophilia and strong US demand for rapid antigen tests to detect COVID-19. Roche also confirmed its guidance for 2022.
Foreign quarterly reports: Philips sales down
On the other hand, the Dutch high-tech giant Philips is feeling the effects of the supply crisis. In the first quarter of 2022, profit stopped at 243 million euros, down by around 30% compared to the same period of 2021. Furthermore, in the same period, sales decreased by 4% to 3,9 billion euros , mainly due to supply chain issues.
For the remainder of 2022, Philips expects sales and profitability to recover, provided the current problems do not worsen. “Risks related to the Covid-19 situation in China, the Russia-Ukraine war, supply chain challenges and inflationary pressures may affect our ability to convert our robust order book into sales and meet our profitability target ”, said managing director Frans van Houten.
