Lagardère Active hit by downturn

French media group Lagardère Active’s audiovisual activities turned in revenues of €179.9m for the first half of 2009, down 17.1% year-on-year.

Parent company Lagardère said Lagardère Active’s second-quarter contraction in revenues was in line with its performance in the first quarter, despite a further collapse in audiovisual revenues. Lagardère Active controls a number of thematic channels including Gulli and Virgin 17 as well as a 34% stake in pay-TV platform CanalSat.

Lagardère as a whole turned in revenues of €3.72bn for the first half, down 3.5% on a like-for-like basis.