Orange Profit Up as International Sales Grow -- Update
October 25 2016 - 3:12AM
Dow Jones News
By Nick Kostov
PARIS-- Orange SA's sales growth picked up in the third quarter
as mobile services revenue increased in Spain and the Middle East
but intense competition in its home market of France weighed on
results.
Sales rose 0.4% to EUR10.32 billion ($11.23 billion) in the
three months to Sept. 30, France's biggest phone carrier said
Tuesday. That helped push up third-quarter earnings before
interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, by 1% to
EUR3.6 billion, slightly above analysts' expectations of EUR3.58
billion.
Having failed to buy Bouygues Telecom in April, Orange is now
stuck competing with three rivals in the French market where a 4G
mobile phone plan is available for less than EUR20 a month. Orange
is betting it can beat out rivals by focusing on the quality of its
network and services rather than lowering prices. It is also
expanding in the Middle East and Africa.
Orange's revenue in France fell 0.5% to EUR4.77 billion in the
three months, hit by declining sales from mobile services. In its
domestic market, the company added 134,000 domestic fixed broadband
customers in the quarter and 187,000 net new mobile contracts.
Raymond James analyst Stephane Beyazian said fixed line growth
in France almost offset the decline in mobile revenue, which he
said was "a reassuring take-away on mobile competition."
Revenue rose 7.8% in Spain and 2.5% in the Middle East. Sales
continued to be pressured by the European Union's push to cut
roaming charges in the region ahead of plans to abolish them
altogether.
Orange confirmed its full-year target of posting higher Ebitda
in 2016 than in 2015 on a comparable basis. It also said it plans
to propose a dividend of EUR0.60 a share.
Write to Nick Kostov at Nick.Kostov@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 25, 2016 02:57 ET (06:57 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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