PARIS: French telecoms operator Orange edged out earnings expectations in the fourth quarter as annual revenues in its home country rose for the first time since 2009. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation for the three months through to December climbed to €3.22bn, coming in just above an average estimate of €3.2bn from analysts polled by Bloomberg and taking full year ebitda to just over €12.9bn.
Annual revenues rose 1.2 per cent year on year to €41.1bn on a comparable basis. Some €18bn of that came from operations in France, marking a 0.6 per cent rise from 2016 and the first full year gain in almost a decade. Annual operating cash flow also rose for the first time in nine years, albeit by only 0.8 per cent to €5.6bn. Chief executive and chairman Stephane Richard called 2017 “a remarkable year for Orange in more ways than one”.
