French media group Canal+ reported annual core profit above guidance on Wednesday and announced plans to hire more than 1,000 salespeople across Africa as part of efforts to revitalise its newly acquired MultiChoice business.
The company, which produces the “Paddington” franchise and is repositioning itself as a global entertainment group, is targeting Africa’s expanding media market as it works to turn around South African broadcaster MultiChoice. CEO Maxime Saada has repeatedly highlighted the continent’s long-term growth potential.
The strategy follows Canal+’s decision earlier this week to shut down the loss-making Showmax streaming platform as part of broader restructuring efforts.
For 2025, Canal+ reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 527 million euros ($613 million), surpassing its guidance of 515 million euros.
The combined Canal+ and MultiChoice group generated total revenues of 8.665 billion euros in 2025 and reported 42.3 million subscribers across operations spanning Europe, Africa and Asia.
Looking ahead to 2026, the company expects moderate organic revenue growth, with adjusted EBIT projected to rise to about 565 million euros. Canal+ also forecast operating cash flow above 500 million euros and an adjusted EBIT margin exceeding 9%.
To address declining performance at MultiChoice, where subscriber numbers fell from 14.9 million to 14.4 million in 2025, Canal+ plans to invest 100 million euros to strengthen content, streamline service offerings and expand its sales workforce across Africa.
While MultiChoice revenues are expected to decline slightly in 2026, the company forecasts adjusted EBIT will increase to roughly 170 million euros.
At the same time, Canal+ said it will implement a voluntary severance programme targeting support functions at MultiChoice as part of its restructuring efforts.