UMG revenues fall, EBITA makes strong gains

Universal Music Group (UMG) has reported a 9.8% fall in first quarter revenues to €984 million – 2% down on the same quarter last year.

The company says that revenues benefited from significant growth in subscription and streaming, but were not enough to arrest the decline in download and physical sales.

Recorded music best-sellers included the Disney ‘Frozen’ soundtrack supported by strong carryover sales from Lorde, Katy Perry and Avicii and a new release from Masaharu Fukuyama.

UMG’s EBITA was €56 million, up a significant 72.5% on a constant currency basis compared to the first quarter of 2013. In April, UMG acquired UK-based Eagle Rock Entertainment, an independent producer and distributor of music programming. This acquisition enhances UMG’s presence in audio and visual content such as live concert footage, documentaries and films.