(Telecompaper) Vivendi reported results for the second quarter below analysts' expectations, posting a year-on-year drop in EBITA of 41.5 percent to EUR 174 million. This negative performance was mainly driven by the ongoing losses of its pay-TV unit Canal Plus in France, which the company intends to redress with a EUR 300 million cost reduction plan, aimed to reach breakeven in France in 2018. Vivendi's Q2 adjusted net income dropped 3.1 percent to EUR 187 million on a comparable basis, while revenue declined to EUR 2.55 billion. Universal Music, Vivendi's second largest business unit, saw its profitability measures improve in the second quarter, with EBITA up 10.8 percent year-on-year. Conversely, performance at Canal Plus Group deteriorated significantly, suffering a 46.8 percent drop in EBITA to EUR 119 million, as the positive trend in its international operations only partly offset increased losses in France.