Orange announces a profit up 31% on the half-year

Orange published, on Thursday, July 26, the balance sheet of its second quarter and the first half of 2018. In the continuity of 2017, the operator reports a solid growth, which, combined with internal optimizations, has led to on a significant increase in the net result.
                

In the second quarter, Orange posted revenue of 10.18 billion euros, up 1.4% over the same period a year earlier. Over the first six months of the year, the operator saw 20.262 billion enter the caisses, offering a 1.7% year-on-year increase. Strength of " 486 million euros of savings " achieved over the period as part of its " Efficiency Program " Explore 2020, it offered itself an EBITDA ( or EBITDA, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of 5.984 billion euros in the first half of 2018 (+ 3.3%, margin up 0.6 points to 29.8%). Its operating profit was € 2.35 billion for the half-year. Its net profit reached 789 million euros, representing a significant increase of 31.3% compared to the first half of 2017.

The success of a strategy based on convergent offers and very high speed

For Orange, almost all lights are green. On the beginning of the year, growth is at the rendezvous in France (+ 1.4%), Spain (+ 3%), in the rest of Europe (+ 1.2% on a comparable basis) as in the vast Africa and Middle East region (+ 5.7% on a comparable basis). Only Orange Bank, with a hole of 68 million euros in the coffers " related to the costs of acquiring customers of the new banking offer ", constitutes a small black point of the balance sheet. The operator attributes his good form to the success of his strategy " focused on the convergence [offres fixe + mobile ; NDLR] and the very high fixed and mobile broadband ". He emphasizes in particular that at the level of the group, " the convergent offers (10.7 million customers on June 30, 2018) progress of + 9% over one year ", while " the cards SIM badociated with convergent offers (18 million) are growing by + 12% ". In all, as of June 30, he listed the bagatelle of 199 million customers on the mobile front.

Concerning more specifically France, Orange also welcomes. As of June 30, it claimed 19.04 million mobile subscribers and 11.321 million fixed subscribers, representing respectively a year-on-year increase of 4% and 2.6% for both segments of its customer base. The fiber of the operator, meanwhile, had 2,249 million subscribers in France, up 33% over one year – a dynamic shared by the Spanish market, where Orange saw its customer base FTTH (fiber up to the subscriber) to grow by 31.6% between the end of June 2017 and the end of June 2018.

Note: Orange's debt rose from 23.843 billion euros at the end of 2017 to 25.273 billion euros at the end of the second quarter of this year.

Orange's balance sheet for the first half of 2018.

Orange's balance sheet for the first half of 2018.