Bouygues: Construction Resilience Amid Media Challenges

French conglomerate Bouygues reported a better-than-expected operating profit for the first nine months, attributed to strong construction activities, even as its media arm grappled with the repercussions of political unrest in France. The conglomerate's operating profit from various activities reached 1.81 billion euros, slightly exceeding the 1.77 billion euros anticipated by analysts.

Bouygues, owned by a family and diversified into construction, energy, media, and telecommunications, is collaborating with Orange and Iliad to restructure France's telecoms market by partitioning a significant portion of Altice France, known for its substantial telecom presence. Despite their 17-billion-euro proposal being rejected by Altice in October, Bouygues, along with its partners, remains committed to negotiating further with Altice shareholders.

While political uncertainties have dampened the advertising revenue for Bouygues-owned TF1, its construction sector thrives with a solid order book, including a major contract for Britain's Sizewell C nuclear project, valued at approximately 3 billion euros. Bouygues reaffirms its forecast for slight growth in both operating profit and revenue, even as its shares lead the gains on France's CAC 40 index.