Technicolor, formerly known as Thomson SA, posted a full-year net loss of €342 million on revenue that fell 14% to €3.53 billion, as the company emerges from bankruptcy protection and continues a major restructuring effort – including a new rebranding project.

Last month, a Paris court lifted the company's protection from its creditors after the court approved a debt-restructuring plan. In November Technicolor had filed for the French equivalent of US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as the company sought to cut its debt to a more manageable size. 2008 net loss was €1.93 billion.

Revenues are forecast to increase in the second half of 2010 as Technicolor recently signed an agreement with Warner Bros. to make and distribute the studio’s DVD and Blu-ray discs.

“Market conditions remained challenging in the second half 2009, with continuing pressure on DVD volumes and a weak economic environment which constrained the number of new film releases and advertising spending,” a press release from the company reads.


During Q4 2009, Technicolor manufactured 341 million DVDs, a 20% drop from 428 million DVDs in Q4 2008. The company pressed 21 million Blu-ray Discs during the quarter, up 34% from 16 million Blu-rays during the same quarter the previous year.

“In the fourth quarter of 2009, DVD activities remained negatively impacted by overall weakness in studio new release and catalog volumes,” the company said. “This resulted in strong reduction in volume within DVD services, in-line with general DVD market trends.

Story filed 08.03.10