Europe Movers: Air France- KLM, Azimut Holding, Dassault Aviation, Entain PLC, Just Group, Vivendi

Inga Muller
07 Mar, 2025
Frankfurt

Dassault Aviation SA surged 3.3% to €296.60 after the French manufacturer of military aircraft and business jets reported increased revenue in fiscal 2024.

Net sales jumped to €6.23 billion from €4.80 billion, net income climbed to €1.06 billion from €886 million, and earnings per share rose to €13.46 from €10.95 a year ago.

The company paid dividends of €4.72 per share for a total of €370 million in 2024, compared to €3.37 per share or €266 million in 2023.

Azimut Holding SpA surged 3% to €26.74 after the Italy-based asset management company reported increased revenue in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Revenue jumped to €415.59 million from €347.03 million, and net profit climbed to €143.07 million from €99.81 million a year ago.

A dividend of €1.75 per share will be paid in May.

In 2025, the company plans to expand in two new markets, one in Africa and one in Asia.

Air France-KLM dropped 4% to €11.67 despite the French airline company reporting higher revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2024.

Revenue increased 6% to €7.88 billion from €7.41 billion, and net loss shrank by 75% to €63 million from a loss of €256 million.

Passengers carried in the quarter increased by 5.1% to 23.486 million from 22.347 million a year ago.

The company guided for the period 2026-2028 an operating margin above 8% and adjusted operating free cash flow significantly positive, in line with its 2023 forecast.

Vivendi SA surged 3.5% to €2.94 after the French content, media, and entertainment company reported results for fiscal 2024.

Revenue declined 4.9% to €297 million from €312 million, earnings swung to a loss of €6.00 billion from a profit of €405 million, and loss per diluted share was €5.96 compared to a profit of 39 cents a year ago.

The company proposed an ordinary dividend of 4 cents per share for 2024 for a total of €40 million, payable from May 2 with the ex-dividend date April 29.

In addition, Vivendi will ask shareholders to repurchase shares at a maximum price of €4 per share, up to a limit of 10% of the share capital (2025-2026 program), with the option of canceling the shares acquired up to a limit of 10% of the capital.

In 2024, share buybacks totaled €342.2 million, or 35 million shares, including 25 million shares as part of the current program (2024-2025) for €243 million.

As of March 6, Vivendi directly holds 38.1 million shares, or 3.70% of its share capital.

In 2024, dividends received from unconsolidated companies and equity affiliates were €167 million, including dividends from Universal Music Group (€93 million), Banijay Group (€28 million), MediaForEurope (€28 million), and Telefonica (€18 million).

Just Group Plc. plunged 13.6% to 141.0 pence after the UK-based financial services company reported results for the fiscal year 2024.

Insurance revenue increased to £1.81 billion from £1.55 billion, profit slumped to £80 million from £129 million, and earnings per diluted share dropped to 6.5 pence from 11.2 pence a year ago.

Retirement income sales jumped 36% to £5.3 billion from £3.9 billion in 2023, while new business margins were slightly lower at 8.7%, compared to 9.1% in the previous year, principally driven by business mix.

These combined reflected a 30% increase in new business profits to £460 million, up from £355 million in 2023.

Just Group proposed a dividend of 2.5 pence per share, or 20% higher than the previous year.

Entain Plc. dropped 1.7% to 717.60 pence after the sports betting and gaming group reported increased revenue in fiscal 2024.

Net gaming revenue jumped to £5.16 billion from £4.83 billion, net loss shrank to £452.7 million from a loss of £928.6 million, and loss per diluted share was 70.8 pence compared to a loss of 141.4 pence a year ago.

The company guided for fiscal 2025 annual adjusted cash flow of over £0.5 billion in the medium term.