Lagardere share price falls after net loss

Shares in French media group Lagardere, which owns many magazines including the titles "Elle" and "Paris Match", plummeted on Friday after the group posted a net loss of 700 million euros for 2011. The company's share price plunged 5.11 percent to 22.53 euros in afternoon trading on Friday on a Paris market which was up 0.15 percent. In 2010, the company, which also own a large stake in Airbus parent EADS, had posted a net profit of 163 million euros. Lagardere had last month announced 900 million euro ($1.18 billion) in provisions to account for the poor performance of sports and pay TV operations in the second half of last year. The group had also written down the value of a 20-percent holding in Canal+ France, a pay television channel channel, which along with Europe 1 is part of its broadcast media activities. Company president Arnaud Lagardere said on Thursday that aside from its sports business, which he called an "accident", the company performed well in 2011.