Africa and Middle East operations help drive FT Orange Q1 results

Earnings at France Telecom (Orange) dipped seven per cent in Q1 due to a “turbulent” French market caused by the launch of low-cost rival Iliad at the beginning of the year.

Group EBITDA fell to €3.4 billion (US$4.45 billion) from €3.7 billion a year earlier, while revenue declined 1.8 per cent to €10.9 billion. French sales, which account for almost half of the group’s total, fell 4.2 per cent to €5.4 billion.

The launch by Illiad’s Free Mobile in January was responsible for Orange losing over 600,000 mobile customers in France during Q1, but the operator also noted that a national roaming contract signed with the new entrant partially offset the decline in domestic revenue.

The group’s Rest-of-the-World unit saw sales rise two per cent (to €2.1 billion) on the back of a 6.8 per cent rise in Africa and Middle East.

The group counted 225 million customers at the end of Q1 (excluding MVNOs), a five per cent increase year-on-year, including 166.2 million mobile subscribers, an increase of 7.1 per cent.