Telecom operator Orange has announced a marginal rise in terms of revenue in the second quarter of 2024, driven by its Lead the Future strategic plan.
Midway through the plan, Orange has made significant achievements across its four strategic pillars, including accelerated EBITDAaL growth and strong cash flow generation. The company has also confirmed its full-year 2024 guidance.
Christel Heydemann, Orange group’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Orange has had a very good first half with solid results that allow us to confirm the Group’s guidance.”
“These results, which notably include an increase in cash flow, continue to be driven by the remarkable performance of Africa & Middle East and the solid improvement of EBITDAaL in Europe, including in France where EBITDAaL stabilized in this first half. This once again demonstrates our ability to execute the Lead the Future strategic plan in a constantly evolving market,” Christel Heydemann said.
Key Highlights:
Revenue Growth: Orange group revenues rose by 0.9 percent compared to Q2 2023, an increase of 85 million euros. This was driven by a 2.4 percent growth in retail services (+182 million euros) and a smaller decline in wholesale services (-7.9 percent or -128 million euros), primarily due to higher unbundling and civil engineering rates in France in Q1.
Net Income: Net income for the first half of 2024 remained stable at 1,092 million euros.
Regional Performance:
Africa & Middle East: The region was the main contributor to growth, with revenues rising by 10.3 percent (+177 million euros), driven by strong performance in voice services and double-digit increases in mobile data (+17.9 percent), fixed broadband (+19.2 percent), Orange Money (+18.9 percent), and B2B services (+14.5 percent).
France: Revenues increased by 0.3 percent (+14 million euros), supported by a 2.5 percent growth in retail services excluding PSTN, aligning with the Lead the Future growth target of 2.0 percent to 4.0 percent. The decline in wholesale services was reduced to -5.7 percent.
Europe: Revenues declined by 2.2 percent (-38 million euros), attributed to a reduction in low-margin activities, partially offset by a 7.1 percent growth in convergent services.
Orange Business: Revenues saw a slight decrease of 1.4 percent (-27 million euros), impacted by a 7.9 percent decline in Fixed-only revenues, offset by a 4.6 percent growth in IT and Integration services, led by Orange Cyberdefense (+10.6 percent).
eCAPEX: In the first half of 2024, eCAPEX rose by 2.6 percent to 2,921 million euros (excluding Spain), mainly to support growth in Africa & Middle East. The eCAPEX for telecom activities as a percentage of revenues stood at 14.7 percent, in line with the 2024 objective of around 15 percent.
FTTH Expansion: The number of households connectable to FTTH reached 57.6 million (excluding Spain), a growth of 11.6 percent. The FTTH customer base grew by 14.8 percent to 12.6 million.
Orange’s strong performance in Q2 2024 underscores its ability to execute its strategic initiatives and adapt to a dynamic market environment, setting a positive outlook for the remainder of the year.
Baburajan Kizhakedath
