PARIS (dpa-AFX) - France Telecom SA (FTE) reported Thursday that its first-quarter revenues were 10.92 billion euros, down 1.8 percent on a comparable basis from last year's 11.12 billion euros.
The Paris-based owner of the Orange brand mobile phones noted that its revenues edged down 0.1 percent on a comparable basis, excluding the impact of regulatory measures.
In France, revenues fell 4.2 percent on a comparable basis to 5.40 billion euros due to its commercial response. Orange's share of the mobile market declined 1.5 percentage points in the first quarter but since mid-March the number of portability requests has returned to the level of the fourth quarter 2011, the company noted.
Chairman and CEO Stéphane Richard said, 'In a particularly turbulent French market due to the arrival of the fourth mobile operator, the response from Orange was rapid, pragmatic and effective. The roaming agreement signed with the new operator helped offset the decline in consumer revenues for the quarter.'
This decline was partly offset by increased revenues in Africa and the Middle East, with recovery in Côte d'Ivoire and Egypt, as well as in Spain led by mobile and fixed broadband services.
Restated EBITDA, a key earnings metric, was 3.432 billion euros, down 7 percent on a comparable basis. The restated EBITDA margin of 31.4 percent was 1.7 percentage points lower than last year. The company noted that good control of commercial expenses and overheads limited the margin decline.
Further, the company confirmed its fiscal 2012 forecast of attaining close to 8 billion euros in operating cash flow. This is despite the continued pressure on its revenues and margins.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
