UMG helps Vivendi Q1

MUSIC TO THEIR EARS: Vivendi reported Q1 profit that beat analysts’ estimates, and music was a significant part of the good news for a change. Net income at the French company excluding one-time gains or losses and some costs was 823 million euros ($1.1 billion), compared with the 765 million euro average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales slipped 0.9 percent to 7.1 billion euros, also exceeding predictions, helped by UMG, which reported EBITDA growth of 48% to 68 million euros. Interestingly, Vivendi CFO Philippe Capron said on the call that one should “not over-emphasize” UMG, even though it has important scheduled album releases including Justin Bieber, Jennifer Lopez and Taylor Swift. (5/16a)