(Reuters) -French conglomerate Bouygues reported a stronger than expected operating profit for the first nine months of the year on Wednesday, helped by resilient construction activities even as political turmoil in France weighed on its media arm.
Current operating profit from activities was 1.81 billion euros ($2.11 billion) between January and September. That was slightly higher than the average estimate of 1.77 billion euros from analysts polled by the company.
Family-owned Bouygues, whose activities span from construction and energy services to media and telecommunications, is leading a joint effort to consolidate France’s telecoms market by carving up a large portion of Altice France, which owns the country’s second-largest operator SFR.
The 17-billion-euro offer, launched together with Orange and Iliad, was rejected by Altice France in October. Still, the trio has stood by the bid and stated its intention to pursue talks with Altice shareholders.
Bouygues said group sales through September reached 41.86 billion euros, in line with market expectations.
The construction business benefited from a strong order book, which gave it solid visibility and offset weaker advertising that weighed on the media unit, the company said.
Earlier in October, Bouygues-owned TF1, France’s biggest private TV broadcaster, warned of lower margins in 2025, after the advertising market was hit by political uncertainty in the country.
Bouygues has also secured a major civil works role at Britain’s Sizewell C nuclear project, with orders worth about 3 billion euros to be booked from late 2025.
($1 = 0.8575 euros)
(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
