RNS Number:3012I
Orange S.A.
05 March 2003
5 March 2003
ORANGE FULL YEAR 2002 FINANCIAL RESULTS
Gathering momentum and increasing financial strength
* EBITDA grew 51% to over Euro5.1 billion
* First full year net profit (before exceptional items), a profit of Euro633
million, equivalent to Euro0.13 per share
* Euro1.5 billion improvement in earnings, before exceptional items
* Positive net cashflow generated in Q4 2002
* Positive ARPU trends established
* On track to deliver TOP plan savings and objectives
Group financial highlights (1)(2)
* Recurring network revenues increased 14% to Euro15.5 billion. Total
revenues were Euro17.1 billion, up 11% on 2001.
* EBITDA increased 51% to Euro5.1 billion, well ahead of expectations.
* EBITDA margin on Group recurring network revenues was 33% (25% in 2001).
* Operating profit increased 85% to Euro2.8 billion, a margin on recurring
network revenues of 18% (11% in 2001).
* First full year net profit (before exceptional items), a profit of Euro633
million. This reflects a Euro1.5 billion improvement on the Euro885 million loss
in 2001, and positive earnings per share of Euro0.13 (2001: loss per share of
Euro0.18).
* Exceptional items net of tax totalled Euro5.2 billion in 2002. These
comprised impairment and other related charges of Euro4.7 billion, and other
non-recurring items of Euro439 million. Of the latter, Euro252 million related to
the exceptional closure costs of the Group's Swedish operation and Euro254
million to other exceptional restructuring items, offset by a tax credit of
Euro67 million.
* Funds generated from operations increased 65% to Euro4.0 billion.
* Net debt reduced by 6% to Euro5.9 billion (2001: Euro6.2 billion). If Orange
had not entered into vendor financing and securitisation agreements, total
indebtedness at the year end would have been Euro7.0 billion
(2001: Euro6.5 billion).
* The Group generated positive net cashflow in Q4 2002, leading Orange to
believe that it has probably passed the point of peak funding.
Exceeding previous targets
Orange has exceeded, or is well on track to exceed, all of its previous
financial targets.
* Orange France(3) had been targeted a 40% EBITDA margin(22) by 2003 or
2004. At 41%, the 2002 results are already beyond this.
* Orange UK had been targeted a 35% EBITDA margin by 2003 or 2004. Its
EBITDA margin jumped from 28% in 2001 to 34% in 2002.
* For Orange's Rest of World operations, the established businesses (in
Slovakia, Romania and Belgium) had been targeted a collective EBITDA margin
of 35% by 2003. Their EBITDA margin in 2002 was well over 40%, a substantial
increase from the 31% reported in 2001. Including Egypt for the second half
of 2002, the collective EBITDA margin for the established businesses was
43%.
* The developing businesses (Switzerland, Netherlands and Denmark) also
beat expectations with a very strong performance. They had been targeted to
be collectively EBITDA positive by 2003, but achieved this in 2002, with a
collective EBITDA contribution of Euro32 million (negative Euro330 million in
2001).
TOP - Total Operating Performance
In December, Orange announced its strategic review programme, building upon and
accelerating the restructuring initiatives begun during the first half of 2002.
Orange is confident this will generate between Euro5 billion and Euro7 billion of
additional cashflow between 2003 and 2005. The early stages of this programme
are progressing well, and focus on maximising the operating performance of our
existing footprint; securing the full benefits of integration; leveraging and
maintaining our network advantage; taking advantage of the full potential of 2
1/2G; and reinforcing financial discipline and accountability.
Jean-Francois Pontal said:
"Orange continues its record of outperformance. Our financials are ahead of all
forecasts made at the time of our flotation only two years ago - and they are
ahead by a long way. We are gathering momentum and increasing financial
strength. The plans we have announced will reinforce this."
Graham Howe said:
"Orange has already largely achieved the margin targets it set for 2003 to 2004,
and reached peak funding significantly earlier than forecast, at a substantially
lower level than expected. On current trends, by 2005, Orange could be debt
free. We are now focused on driving our advantage of scale as an integrated
group, and through our relationship with France Telecom."
Sol Trujillo, who became Chief Executive Officer on Monday, said:
"I have nothing but praise for Orange, the team and what it has achieved. I am
arriving at a business with an impressive record, an impressive performance and
an impressive potential. I intend to build on that to deliver even greater
strength - both financial and strategic.
"The future's bright, the future's Orange."
For further information, please contact:
Orange SA Tel: 00 44 (0) 20 7984 1691
David Smyth, Group Director of Strategic and Investor Services
Orange Media Centre Tel: 00 44 (0) 20 7984 2000
Denise Lewis, Group Director of Corporate Affairs
Niamh Byrne, Head of UK PR & Sponsorship
France Telecom Tel: 00 33 1 44 44 88 71
Bruno Janet, Senior Vice President Group Corporate
Information
Nilou Ducastel, Group Press Director France Telecom
Citigate Dewe Rogerson Tel: 00 44 (0) 20 7638 9571
Anthony Carlisle Tel: 00 44 (0) 7973 611 888
London and Paris, 5 March 2003:
Financial Details(1)(2)
Profit and Loss Account
Orange's total revenues grew 11% to Euro17,085 million (2001: Euro15,330 million),
outstripping customer growth. EBITDA(10) grew 51% to Euro5,146 million, well ahead
of expectations and representing a margin on recurring network revenues(7) of
over 33% (25% in 2001). This reflects very strong margin growth in Orange's
core markets and a dramatic five-fold increase in EBITDA from the Rest of World
operations(11).
Recurring network revenues increased 14% to Euro15,488 million, and accounted for
91% of total revenues.
Driven by this, operating income grew 85% to Euro2,782 million.
Interest expense fell to Euro419 million from Euro436 million in 2001, reflecting the
decrease in net debt and a fall in global interest rates.
Orange's share of net losses in its affiliates decreased to Euro385 million,
reflecting the write-down of its investment in MobilCom to zero at the end of
2001. The majority of the 2002 charge related to Orange's share of the net
losses in Wind, while the remainder related to start-up losses in TA Orange in
Thailand.
After these items, Orange recorded an annual profit before tax, goodwill
amortisation and minority interests of Euro1,910 million, more than four times the
Euro432 million recorded in 2001.
Tax increased to Euro811 million in 2002 due to an increase in taxable profits
across the Group, partially offset by a rate reduction in France and recognition
of a deferred tax asset in Belgium. The Group's effective tax rate improved
from 68% in 2001 to 35% in 2002.
Goodwill amortisation fell to Euro295 million driven by the write-off of goodwill
in respect of MobilCom in 2001 and Wind in H1 2002. Minority interest charges
increased to Euro171 million, due to higher profitability in non-wholly owned
subsidiaries.
After these items, Orange recorded its first annual net profit (before
exceptional items), a profit of Euro633 million, a Euro1.5 billion improvement over
the Euro885 million loss in 2001.
In 2002, the Group recorded exceptional items of Euro5,169 million, of which Euro4,730
million related to impairment and other related charges and a net Euro439 million
of exceptional costs related to the restructuring of the Group. Within the
impairment charges, Euro3,038 million related to a write-down in the value of
Orange's 26.6% shareholding in Wind. This followed a strategic review by Orange
of its investment portfolio at the end of 2002. The write-down was calculated
based on the respective fair values of Wind's mobile and fixed line activities.
In addition, Orange wrote down the value of its investment in Dutchtone in the
Netherlands by Euro1,324 million. The remaining impairment charges related to the
write-down of investments in other Rest of World territories and the Group's
OrangeWorld ventures.
Exceptional costs totalling Euro439 million, net of a tax credit of Euro67 million,
comprised Euro252 million in respect of Orange's withdrawal from the Swedish
market, and Euro254 million related to costs and provisions associated with the
Group's restructuring plans announced in December. These items comprised
redundancy and closure costs, write-off of fixed assets and costs incurred in
connection with discontinued projects.
After these exceptional items, the Group recorded a net loss of Euro4,536 million.
Balance Sheet
At 31 December 2002, shareholders' equity was Euro13,709 million and net debt was
Euro5,870 million (2001: Euro6,214 million). In the absence of vendor financing and
securitisation agreements, total indebtedness at 31 December 2002 would have
been Euro6,983 million (2001: Euro6,448 million). Total assets were Euro28,824 million.
Cash Flow
Funds generated from operations increased 65% to Euro4,035 million (2001: Euro2,448
million).
Total cash outflow on capex was Euro3,573 million, including Euro35 million for a 3G
licence in Slovakia.
Cash of Euro297 million was drawn under the vendor financing facilities and Euro582
million received from a programme to securitise trade receivables in the UK and
French businesses. This securitisation programme was begun in December 2002.
Cash outflow on financial investments totalled Euro834 million, arising primarily
from the acquisition of a 71.25% stake in MobiNil (cash consideration of Euro324
million) in July 2002, the transfer of a shareholder loan in Wind (Euro236 million)
from France Telecom to Orange, additional shareholder loans (Euro108 million)
granted by the Group to Connect Austria and capital increases of Euro48 million and
Euro69 million respectively in Wind and BITCO (in Thailand).
The result was the Group's first positive net cash contribution, an inflow of
Euro515 million, compared to a net cash outflow of Euro1,125 million in 2001. After
foreign exchange and other non-cash impacts totalling Euro171 million, net debt
decreased by Euro344 million, compared to an increase of Euro1,176 million in 2001.
If Orange had not drawn down vendor financing and entered into a securitisation
programme, total indebtedness would have increased by Euro535 million over 2001, to
Euro6,983 million. However, on the same basis, total indebtedness decreased by Euro81
million in Q4 2002, and cash generation is expected overall to be increasingly
positive moving forwards. We therefore believe that we are around the point of
peak funding.
Capital Expenditure (excluding licences)
Capital expenditure (excluding licences)(13) for the Group decreased to Euro3,282
million (2001: Euro3,459 million), and was more than 1.5 times covered by EBITDA.
In France, capital expenditure was down marginally to Euro803 million, while in the
UK, capital expenditure declined 10% to Euro1,145 million. In the Rest of World,
capital expenditure was Euro1,334 million (2001: Euro1,367 million).
Following the measures announced in December 2002, Orange believes that over the
period 2003 to 2005, capital expenditure will be between Euro7 billion and Euro8
billion, around Euro3 billion lower than its previous forecast.
The results for 2002 give a capex to turnover ratio of 19%, compared with 23% in
2001.
Key Business Drivers
Operating in increasingly highly penetrated markets, the Group customer base
nevertheless grew by 9% in 2002 to a total of 44.4 million customers.
In Orange's core markets, the focus has been to attract and retain higher value
customers. The share of growth accounted for by contract customers doubled year
on year in both France and the UK (from 45% to 89% and 27% to 52% respectively).
Across the Group, the proportion of customers on contract tariffs increased to
42.5% (from 40.8% at the end of 2001).
Within the UK, the increasing maturity of customers and the improved mix, helped
increase average revenues. Average revenue per contract user ("ARPU")(8)(9)
continued to increase, and, for the first year ever, ARPU rose for the prepay
base and the overall customer base as well.
In the UK, average revenues per customer were #259 for the year, an increase of
5.7% on the #245 in 2001. Of this, #222 (#217 in 2001) was from voice traffic
and #37 (#28 in 2001) was from usage of non-voice services.
This was the first time that an increase in Orange UK's average voice ARPU had
been achieved. Over the whole year, the increase to #222 was 2.3%, but taken
from the point of inflection in Q1 2002, the growth over the last nine months of
2002 was even higher at 3.6%.
Overall ARPU also increased in Denmark, Switzerland, Belgium and the
Netherlands.
Expenditure on subscriber acquisition costs (SACs)(16) reduced by 25% to Euro1,525
million (2001: Euro2,033 million) as growth in absolute customer numbers slowed.
This equated to 9% of total revenues (13% in 2001). EBITDA pre SACs was Euro6,671
million, a margin of 43% of recurring network revenues (2001: Euro5,433 million and
a margin of 40%).
The reduction in acquisition costs was slightly offset by an increase in
subscriber retention costs (SRCs). These grew to Euro811 million for the Group
(Euro600 million in 2001), 5% of total revenues (4% in 2001).
Orange France(3)
In 2002, Orange France's total revenues grew 11% to Euro7,651 million, recurring
revenues grew 12% to Euro6,989 million and EBITDA was up 31% to Euro2,862 million.
This represented an EBITDA margin of 41%, up from 35% in 2001, and beating its
40% target more than a year ahead of schedule.
This margin improvement was helped by a 25% decrease in subscriber acquisition
costs to Euro686 million.
Orange France strengthened its leading market position with an 8% increase in
registered customers, finishing the year with over 19.2 million customers and a
50% market share, up from 48% at the end of 2001.
Within this, the contract base increased to 10.7 million, 56% of the total,
maintaining Orange France's 50% share of the total French contract market.
Overall churn(18) was 21.6%, with prepay customers showing an increase as
inactivity levels and migrations to the "Compte Mobile Orange" (CMO) tariff
continued to grow. In the contract segment, churn decreased substantially, to
15.0% (from 18.6% in 2001).
For the first time in France, average usage(17) increased in 2002, from 138
minutes per month in 2001 to 143 minutes, an increase of 3.6%. Orange believes
that this will help move Orange France towards the inflection point for average
revenues.
Orange France's overall annual average revenue was Euro377 for 2002 (Euro392 in 2001),
a 3.8% decline, less than half the rate of decline in the previous year.
Orange France's average revenue on the contract base declined from Euro583 in 2001
to Euro560 in 2002, principally due to the rapid growth in the number of lower
usage CMO customers. While the increasing proportion of CMO customers has a
dilutive effect on average contract revenues, they do produce a higher ARPU than
prepay customers, and hence contribute to the overall performance.
Average revenue on the Orange France prepay base was Euro163.
Overall average subscriber acquisition costs were down 6% to Euro127 and total
subscriber acquisition costs fell to Euro686 million, 9% of total revenues.
Combined subscriber acquisition and retention costs fell to Euro984 million, 13% of
total revenues (from 16% in 2001).
Orange UK
During the year, Orange maintained its position as the UK's leading operator,
with an active customer base of 13.3 million and an estimated market share of
27.2% at the end of 2002.
This has been achieved despite Orange using the most conservative definition of
active prepay customers in the market.
The focus on building customer value has generated a further increase in the
proportion of contract customers in the customer base. The contract customer
base increased 13% to 4.2 million customers at the year end and contract
customers accounted for over half the total growth during the year.
The prepay base increased 5% during the year, to over 9 million customers (2001:
8.6 million).
For the first time ever, Orange UK achieved a consistent increase in annual
average customer revenues during the year and is now reaping the benefits of its
maturing customer base.
Overall average customer revenues increased 5.7% during 2002, to #259. Within
this, the average ARPU for both the contract and prepay bases increased, as did
the contribution from both voice usage and non-voice services.
Contract ARPU was #557 for the year (#544 in 2001), while prepay ARPU increased
from #121 to #125, having passed inflection after Q1 2002.
The voice element of average revenues increased 2.3% to #222 in 2002, while the
contribution from non-voice services increased 32% to #37 in 2002. Non-voice
revenues contributed 64% of the growth in overall ARPU.
This supports Orange's belief that future revenue growth will come from
increased usage of both traditional voice and new and existing non-voice
services.
The result was that Orange UK's total revenues increased 12% to Euro5,961 million,
and its EBITDA grew 41% to Euro1,801 million, driven by a 16% increase in recurring
network revenues to Euro5,345 million and a 17% decrease in subscriber acquisition
costs.
EBITDA margin was 34% of recurring network revenues, substantially higher than
the 28% in 2001, putting Orange UK on track to exceed its 2003/2004 target of
35%.
Overall, churn fell to 17.5% (2001: 18.4%), with contract churn at 15.5% and
prepay churn at 18.8%.
Average usage rose during the year to 140 minutes per month (from 138 in 2001),
with the contract base averaging 326 minutes and the prepay base at 56 minutes
per month.
The average cost of acquiring new customers increased to #120 in 2002,
reflecting the increased focus on the higher value contract segments. The
average contract acquisition cost increased to #254 in 2002 (from #214 in 2001).
Orange expects that there will be a strong focus to reduce the level of
handset subsidies in the future, and plans a greater targeting of acquisition
effort towards higher value customers.
Prepay acquisition costs declined to #14 in 2002, following a reduction in the
level of handset subsidies offered, and a higher proportion of SIM-card only
connections.
Total spend on subscriber acquisition costs fell from 13% of total revenues in
2001 to 10% (Euro582 million) in 2002. Subscriber retention costs increased to 7%
of total revenues (2001: 6%), slightly lower than the H1 2002 level.
Rest of World
Orange's operations in the Rest of World continued to grow strongly, with every
one of its controlled operations contributing positive EBITDA before SACs.
Total revenues in the Rest of World increased 15% to Euro3,657 million and
recurring network revenues grew 13% to Euro3,258 million.
There was also strong progress in Rest of World profitability. Collectively,
the more established businesses in Slovakia, Romania and Belgium achieved a full
year EBITDA margin of over 40%, well ahead of their 35% target. Including Egypt
for the second half of the year, their collective EBITDA margin was 43%.
Of the developing businesses, Orange Denmark contributed positive EBITDA for the
first time, with EBITDA of Euro12 million, up from negative Euro60 million in 2001,
driven by a successful restructuring and rebranding process.
Dutchtone in the Netherlands also made strong progress, both operationally and
financially, reducing its negative EBITDA substantially to just Euro35 million in
2002 (negative Euro277 million in 2001). This was also due to a successful
restructuring process, with a significant reduction in headcount and improved
cost control. Recent surveys (independent "consumentumbond" studies) voted
Dutchtone the number one in the market for customer satisfaction and the "best
retail experience".
The collective EBITDA margin for all of the Rest of World operations improved
from 5.9% in 2001 to 27.0% in 2002.
The Rest of World customer base(6) reached 11.8 million, an increase of 13%
during the year.
Overall average customer revenues increased in all of the major operations, with
the exception of Romania and Slovakia. Both of these operations had a year of
extremely strong customer growth dominated by prepay customers and this had a
dilutive effect on overall ARPU.
Overall ARPU increased in Denmark, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands,
where it was particularly encouraging with a 23.8% uplift to Euro333 in 2002.
During the year, Orange entered the Egyptian market with the acquisition of
France Telecom's 71.25% stake in MobiNil, in line with the intention expressed
at the time of Orange's IPO.
At the end of 2002, Orange announced its withdrawal from the Swedish market. A
charge of Euro252 million relating to the costs of closing the Swedish operation
was included in the exceptional items in Orange's 2002 profit and loss account.
Earlier in 2002, Orange announced its intention to withdraw from its other
green-field 3G operation, MobilCom in Germany.
Orange's latest network, TA Orange in Thailand, was launched on 27 March 2002,
with great local awareness and interest, and had already won over 1.3 million
customers at 31 December 2002.
Orange also extended its branded presence during the year with the brand
successfully rolled out:
* in Slovakia, where Globtel became Orange Slovensko in March,
* in Romania, where MobilRom became Orange Romania in April,
* in the Ivory Coast, where Societe Ivorienne de Mobiles became Orange
Cote d'Ivoire in May, and
* in Cameroon, where Societe Camerounaise de Mobiles became
Orange Cameroun in June.
The rebranding process is expected to continue, with Dutchtone (in the
Netherlands) and Orange's operations in Botswana becoming Orange in March 2003.
Non-Voice Trends
Revenues from non-voice services grew 51% to Euro1,666 million, 10.8% of Group
recurring network revenues. Orange UK reported the highest percentage, with
14.3% of recurring network revenues coming from non-voice services, followed by
Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark and the Netherlands, all of which achieved in
excess of 10%.
These results confirm our belief that Orange's operations in mature markets
should see 25% of recurring network revenues coming from non-voice services by
2005.
This growth in non-voice revenues has been incremental to continued growth in
revenues from traditional voice usage, which grew from Euro12,533 million in 2001
to Euro13,822 million in 2002, an increase of over 10%.
Non-voice usage continued to be dominated by person to person short messaging,
although there was increasing growth in the usage of location based and other
text based services. Orange France's customers sent 2.6 billion messages in
2002, up 69% on 2001. In the UK, Orange's customers sent 4.8 billion billable
messages.
In the UK, 45% of prepay customers, and 71% of contract customers were regular
SMS ("Short Message Service" or text message) users. In France, almost half of
the contract base (46%) and 29% of the prepay base were active SMS users, both
reflecting strong growth over 2001. SMS users in France sent an increased
number of messages per month in 2002: 37 per month overall (2001: 34), with an
average of 40 per month for prepay customers and 36 per month for contract
customers. In the UK, active SMS users on contract tariffs sent an average of
64 messages per month in 2002 (2001: 61 messages per month) and active SMS users
on prepay tariffs sent an average of 61 messages per month (2001: 56 messages
per month).
Orange also saw a strong increase in demand for data services beyond the basic
text messaging. By the end of 2002, Orange had over 850,000 OrangeWorld
Services users, customers who subscribe to one of our bundled data tariffs or
have picture messaging capability. These customers generate higher data ARPU
than the average, especially those customers using Orange "signature" devices
(handsets with an Orange "look and feel" with Orange-specific applications).
Looking at Orange's most recently launched and sophisticated signature device,
for example, early indications are encouraging. Around 40,000 SPV handsets had
been sold by the end of January and Orange expects to have shipped twice this
amount by the end of March 2003. The next version of the SPV handset is
expected to be launched in Q2 2003. SPV customers are taking advantage of the
services offered, accessing the internet on average five times a day, with 60%
also using their handsets to send and receive emails. When new software was
released for the SPV recently, over 72% downloaded it within the first week.
The average data ARPU of an SPV customer today is substantially higher that that
of a customer with a "non-signature" camera phone. These are early indications,
but they are very encouraging and confirm that there is substantial potential
for wirefree data services beyond text messaging.
Group Financial Highlights(1)(2)
(for the twelve months ended 31 December 2002)
* Customer base (at 31 December 2002) 44.4 million +9% on 2001
* Total revenues Euro17,085m +11%
* EBITDA Euro5,146m +51%
* EBITDA margin(22) 33% (2001: 25%)
* Operating income Euro2,782m +85%
* Profit before tax, goodwill
* amortisation and minority interests Euro1,910m +342%
* Balance sheet strength(14) Net debt to EBITD A: 1.14
(at 31 December 2002)
* Capital expenditure (excl licences)(13) Euro3,282m -5%
Orange France(3)
* Customer base(4) 19.2 million +8%
* Total revenues Euro7,651m +11%
* EBITDA Euro2,862m +31%
* EBITDA margin 41% (2001: 35%)
* Operating income Euro2,196m +35%
* Capital expenditure (excl licences) Euro803m -3%
Orange UK
* Customer base(5) 13.3 million +7%
* Total revenues Euro5,961m +12%
* EBITDA Euro1,801m +41%
* EBITDA margin 34% (2001: 28%)
* Operating income Euro998m +63%
* Capital expenditure (excl licences) Euro1,145m -10%
Rest of World
* Customer base(6) 11.8 million +13%
* Total revenues Euro3,657m +15%
* EBITDA(11) Euro880m +421%
* EBITDA margin 27% (2001: 6%)
* Operating loss Euro(2)m (2001: loss of Euro499m)
* Capital expenditure (excl licences) Euro1,334m -2%
Twelve months ended 31 December
(millions of Euro except data per share)
2002(1) 2001 2001
Pro forma Actual
(unaudited)(2)
Profit and loss account data
Total revenues
France 7,651 6,876 6,876
UK 5,961 5,337 5,337
Rest of World 3,657 3,184 2,941
Inter-segment eliminations (184) (67) (67)
Total 17,085 15,330 15,087
Cost of sales (6,200) (5,879) (5,815)
Selling, general and administrative costs (5,715) (6,009) (5,942)
Research and development costs (24) (42) (42)
EBITDA
France 2,862 2,185 2,185
UK 1,801 1,277 1,277
Rest of World(11) 880 169 57
Shared Group Functions(11) (397) (231) (231)
Total 5,146 3,400 3,288
Depreciation and amortisation (excluding
goodwill amortisation) (2,364) (1,898) (1,848)
Operating income / (loss)
France 2,196 1,624 1,624
UK 998 612 612
Rest of World (2) (499) (561)
Shared Group Functions (410) (235) (235)
Total 2,782 1,502 1,440
Interest expenses, net (419) (436) (420)
Foreign exchange losses (44) (18) (18)
Other non operating expenses, net (24) (12) (12)
Equity in net loss of affiliates (excl goodwill (385) (604) (604)
amortisation)
Profit before income taxes, goodwill amortisation
and minority interests
1,910 432 386
Income taxes before exceptional items (811) (706) (684)
Goodwill amortisation (295) (562) (556)
Minority interests (171) (49) (32)
Income / (loss) before exceptional items 633 (885) (886)
Exceptional items, net of tax (5,169) (3,635) (3,635)
Net loss (4,536) (4,520) (4,521)
Income/(loss) per share before exceptional items 0.13 (0.18) (0.18)
(Euro)(12)
Net loss per share (basic and diluted) (Euro)(12) (0.94) (0.94) (0.94)
Twelve months ended 31 December
(millions of Euro)
2002(1) 2001(23)
Selected cash flow data
Funds generated from operations 4,035 2,448
Purchase of property, plant, equipment and
intangible assets (excluding UMTS licences and net
of movements in fixed asset creditors)(15) (3,538) (3,018)
Increase in UMTS vendor financing 297 234
Purchase of UMTS licences (35) (873)
Changes in other operating assets and liabilities - 208
Securitisation of receivables 582 -
Free cash flow 1,341 (1,001)
Cash paid for investment securities and acquired
business, net of cash acquired (834) (669)
Proceeds from the sale of investments 8 545
Cash movement in net debt 515 (1,125)
Non cash movement in net debt (171) (51)
Total reduction / (increase) in net debt 344 (1,176)
Selected balance sheet data (at period end) As at 31 December
(millions of Euro, except net debt to EBITDA ratio)
2002(1) 2001(23)
Long-term assets 23,960 28,198
Shareholders' equity 13,709 18,830
Net debt(14) 5,870 6,214
Net debt to EBITDA ratio 1.14 1.89
Twelve months ended 31 December
2002 2001
Operating data
France(3)
Customers (in thousands) (period end)(4) 19,216 17,823
Contract 10,683 9,445
Prepay 8,533 8,378
Recurring network revenues (Euro in millions)(7) 6,989 6,234
Equipment revenues (Euro in millions) 563 615
Other revenues (Euro in millions) 99 27
Total revenues (Euro in millions) 7,651 6,876
Annual average revenue per user (Euro)(9) 377 392
Contract 560 583
Prepay 163 175
Monthly average usage per user (minutes)(17) 143 138
Contract 224 213
Prepay 48 51
Churn (%)(18) 21.6 20.6
Contract (%) 15.0 18.6
Prepay (%) 29.4 23.4
Subscriber acquisition costs per connection (Euro)(16) 127 135
Contract 198 201
Prepay 55 79
UK
Customers (in thousands) (period end)(5) 13,312 12,387
Contract 4,238 3,761
Prepay 9,074 8,626
Recurring network revenues (Euro in millions) 5,345 4,590
Equipment revenues (Euro in millions) 611 736
Other revenues (Euro in millions) 5 11
Total revenues (Euro in millions) 5,961 5,337
Annual average revenue per user (#)(8) 259 245
Contract 557 544
Prepay 125 121
Monthly average usage per user (minutes) 140 138
Contract 326 335
Prepay 56 57
Churn (%) 17.5 18.4
Contract underlying (including migrations) (%) 15.5 (23.1) 15.2 (26.3)
Prepay (%) 18.8 19.7
Subscriber acquisition costs per connection (#) 120 100
Contract 254 214
Prepay 14 41
Rest of World Data
The number of customers, total revenues, EBITDA and ARPU for our principal
subsidiaries included in the Rest of World segment for the twelve months ended
31 December 2002 and 2001 are set out in the table below:
Twelve months ended 31 December
2002(1) 2001
Pro forma
(unaudited)(2)
The Netherlands - Dutchtone
Customers (in thousands) (period end) 1,024 1,114
Total revenues (Euro in millions) 400 363
EBITDA (Euro in millions) (35) (277)
Annual rolling ARPU (Euro) 333 269
Slovakia - Orange Slovensko
Customers (in thousands) (period end) 1,713 1,205
Total revenues (Euro in millions) 315 235
EBITDA (Euro in millions) 129 82
Annual rolling ARPU (Euro) 198 242
Denmark - Orange Denmark
Customers (in thousands) (period end) 509 600
Total revenues (Euro in millions) 241 194
EBITDA (Euro in millions) 12 (60)
Annual rolling ARPU (Euro) 339(20) 259
Romania - Orange Romania
Customers (in thousands) (period end) 2,211 1,637
Total revenues (Euro in millions) 393 378
EBITDA (Euro in millions) 184 197
Annual rolling ARPU (Euro) 202 265
Belgium - Mobistar
Customers (in thousands) (period end) (19) 2,305 2,547
Total revenues (Euro in millions) (19) 1,004 881
EBITDA (Euro in millions) 317 153
Annual rolling ARPU (Euro) 402 395
Switzerland - Orange Communications
Customers (in thousands) (period end) 963 925
Total revenues (Euro in millions) 694 587
EBITDA (Euro in millions) 55 7
Annual rolling ARPU (Euro) 721(21) 618
Egypt - MobiNil
Customers (in thousands) (period end) 1,626 1,449
Total revenues (Euro in millions) 247 243
EBITDA (Euro in millions) 142 112
Annual rolling ARPU (Euro) 281 324
Other Rest of World
Customers (in thousands) (period end) 1,488 1,033
Total revenues (Euro in millions) 363 303
EBITDA (Euro in millions) (11) 76 (45)
Total Rest of World
Customers (in thousands) (period end)(6) 11,839 10,510
Total revenues (Euro in millions) 3,657 3,184
EBITDA (Euro in millions) (11) 880 169
Notes
(1) Basis of preparation:
With effect from 1 July 2002, 71.25% of MobiNil's financial and operating
data are proportionally consolidated into Rest of World and Orange Group.
(2) Pro forma information :
Inclusion of MobiNil in 2001 financial and operating data
In order to permit a more meaningful comparison of our 2002 performance
against 2001, all references or comparisons to profit and loss account data,
capital expenditure (excluding licences) and selected operating data
(customers and annual rolling ARPU) in respect of the year ended 31 December
2001 relate to pro forma information prepared as if MobiNil had been part of
our Group over the period 1 July 2001 to 31 December 2001.
(3) Orange France includes metropolitan France, Orange Caraibe and Orange
Reunion.
(4) Registered customer base.
(5) Active customer base.
(6) Includes all of the customers of our controlled wirefree operations
outside France and the United Kingdom. Customers of companies in which we
have a minority interest, such as Wind or TA Orange, and customers from our
service provider subsidiaries, such as our former UK service provider, are
not included.
(7) Recurring network revenues include outgoing traffic, incoming
traffic, access fees, visitor roaming and value added services.
(8) Prior to 1 October 2002, incoming call revenues arising from
customers who have left Orange UK and transferred to one of the other UK
networks, but who have kept their Orange numbers (Mobile Number Portability
or " MNP"), were included in the calculation of Orange UK's overall and
contract ARPUs. With effect from 1 October 2002, these revenues have been
excluded from the calculation of Orange UK's recurring network revenues, and
hence also from the overall and contract ARPUs.
(9) Annual average revenue per user ("ARPU") is calculated by dividing
network revenues (including outgoing traffic, incoming traffic, access fees,
visitor roaming and value added services) for the previous 12 months by the
weighted average number of our customers during the same period. The
weighted average number of our customers during a period is the average of
the monthly average customer bases for the period. The monthly average
customer base is calculated as the sum of the opening and closing customer
bases for the month divided by two. ARPU is quoted on a revenue per customer
per year basis. Orange France (mainland) does not currently receive revenues
from other French mobile network operators for voice calls from their
networks that terminate on Orange France's mainland network as in some other
markets, in particular, the United Kingdom. As a consequence, French and UK
ARPUs are not directly comparable.
(10)Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation
("EBITDA") is presented because it is a measure commonly used in the
telecommunications industry and is presented solely to enhance the
understanding of our operating results. EBITDA, however, should not be
considered as an alternative indicator of our operating performance to
operating income or income for the year. Similarly, EBITDA should not be
considered as an alternative measure of liquidity to cash flows from
operating activities. EBITDA is not a measure of financial performance under
French, UK or US GAAP and may not be comparable to other similarly titled
measures for other companies. EBITDA is not meant to be predictive of
potential future results.
(11)Shared group functions includes group overheads and other
common expenses as well as OrangeWorld. Previously, OrangeWorld was included
in the Rest of World segment. 2001 segmental EBITDA and operating loss have
been restated accordingly.
(12)Data per share is calculated using a weighted average number of
shares in issue of 4,814,563,169 in 2002.
(13)Capital expenditure excluding licences comprises tangible fixed
asset additions (amounting to Euro3,290 million in 2002, compared to Euro3,381
million in 2001), excluding finance leases (amounting to Euro27 million in
2002, compared to nil in 2001), plus intangible fixed asset additions,
excluding UMTS and GSM licences (amounting to Euro19 million in 2002 compared
to Euro78 million in 2001).
(14)Net debt at 31 December 2002 and 2001 excludes vendor financing of Euro531
million and Euro234 million respectively. Net debt at 31 December 2002 is shown
net of marketable securities amounting to Euro4 million.
(15)Movements in fixed asset creditors resulted in a cash outflow of Euro204
million in 2002 and a cash inflow of Euro338 million in 2001.
(16)Subscriber acquisition costs are included partly in "Cost of
sales" and the balance in "Selling, general and administrative expenses" and
are expensed as incurred. Subscriber acquisition costs are analysed
separately by subtracting the revenue received from handset sales from the
total cost of handsets included in "Cost of sales". This amount is added to
the commissions paid to distributors which are included in "Selling, general
and administrative expenses". To calculate annual average subscriber
acquisition costs, the total for a 12 month period is divided by the total
number of connections (including in the United Kingdom connections of
prepaid upgraded handsets and those removed from the United Kingdom) less
disconnections under a money back trial period and attempted fraudulent
connections for the 12 month period. Subscriber acquisition costs are quoted
on a per connection basis.
(17)Monthly average usage per user ("AUPU") is defined
as total usage (including outgoing traffic, incoming traffic and roaming)
for the previous 12 months divided by the weighted average number of our
customers during the same period. AUPU is quoted in minutes on a usage per
customer per month basis.
(18)Churn, the measure of customers leaving our networks, is calculated by
dividing the total number of customers who disconnect or are treated as
having disconnected from our network, voluntarily or involuntarily
(excluding money-back returns and fraudulent connections), for the previous
12 months by the weighted average number of our customers during the
same period. The way we compute churn differs between Orange UK and Orange
France in the following ways:
* For Orange UK, customers migrating between contract and prepaid
products are included in individual product churn but do not impact overall
churn as they remain on the Orange UK network. Customer disconnections that
occur either during the money-back guaranteed 14-day trial period or due to
fraudulent connections are not included in churn. The Company also excludes
from churn those connections which, in its view, do not result in active
customers, including those as a result of prepaid handset upgrades or the
removal of handsets from the UK market. Prepaid customers are treated as
having churned if they have not made any outgoing calls and have received
less than four incoming calls in the last three months.
* For Orange France, churn includes those customers leaving the Orange
network, migrations between contract and prepaid products and those
customers upgrading their handsets via an indirect channel. Prepaid
customers are treated as having churned after eight months if they do not
recharge their account during this eight-month period.
(19)Mobistar's customer and revenue numbers as reported by Orange differ from
those reported by Mobistar as follows:
* Customers: At the end of 2001, Mobistar's reported customer
base included a number of inactive prepay customers and suspended contract
customers. Mobistar's 2002 customer base excludes inactive prepay customers
and suspended contract customers. On a like-for-like basis, excluding
inactive prepay customers and suspended contract customers, Mobistar's 2001
customer base would have been 2,164k customers.
* Revenues: The revenues reported by Orange for Mobistar
include intra-group billings, which are excluded from Mobistar's own
reported revenues. In 2001, Mobistar's reported revenues were Euro866 million,
which excluded Euro15 million of intra-group billings and other revenues
included in the Euro881 million revenue reported by Orange for Mobistar. In
2002, Mobistar reported revenues of Euro998 million, which exclude Euro6 million
of intra-group billings included in Orange's total revenues for Mobistar of
Euro1,004 million.
(20)Denmark's ARPU was calculated on an active basis for the first
time in 2002. Calculated on a like for like basis with 2001, ARPU in 2002
would have been Euro293.
(21)Switzerland's ARPU was calculated on an active basis for the
first time in 2002. Calculated on a like for like basis with 2001, ARPU in
2002 would have been Euro633.
(1) EBITDA margin calculated as a percentage of recurring network revenues.
(2) 2001 figures as previously reported (excluding Egypt).
(3) In order to exclude the impact of fluctuations in foreign
exchange rates on underlying performance, the following financial data
reported in 2001 has been recalculated for illustrative purposes only using
2002 foreign exchange rates (in addition to the inclusion of MobiNil for the
6 month period ended 31 December 2001 per note 2 above):
2001 2001
pro forma pro forma
Eurom Eurom
(reported rates) (constant rates)
Total revenues 15,330 15,227
Recurring network revenues 13,636 13,545
EBITDA 3,400 3,371
Operating income 1,502 1,491
Capital expenditure (excluding licences) 3,459 3,430
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" about Orange. Such
statements are not historical facts and include expressions about management's
confidence and strategies and management's expectations about new and existing
programs, technology and market conditions. Although Orange believes its
expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, these forward looking
statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. These statements
may not be regarded as a representation that anticipated events will occur or
that expected objectives will be achieved. Important factors that could cause
actual results or performance to differ materially from the results anticipated
in these forward looking statements include, among other things, the success of
the announcement of its strategic review programme (TOP), Orange's other
strategic, financial and operating initiatives, changes in economic, business
and competitive markets, risks and uncertainties attendant upon international
operations, technological trends, wirefree telecommunications usage levels, the
effect and outcome of UMTS licensing, roll-out and performance, exchange rate
fluctuation and market regulatory factors. The forward-looking statements in
this press release are only valid until the date of this document and Orange
does not undertake to update any forward looking statement to reflect events or
circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events.
This press release is not an offer to sell securities or the solicitation of an
offer to buy securities, nor shall there be any offer or sale of securities in
any jurisdiction in which such offer or sale would be unlawful prior to
registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.
This information is provided by RNS
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END
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