Apr 24 2024: Orange (FNCTF) reported first-quarter core operating profit that aligned with market forecasts, driven by robust revenue growth in its Africa and Middle East operations.
The company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and the cost of leased assets (Ebitdaal), the preferred metric for Orange, increased by 2.3% to 2.41 billion euros ($2.58 billion) for the quarter, matching the estimated 2.40 billion euros from a company poll.
Quarterly revenue also experienced a modest uptick, reaching 9.85 billion euros ($10.54 billion) compared to 9.65 billion euros the previous year. However, this fell short of the anticipated 10.79 billion euros as per FactSet estimates.
In response, shares in Orange dipped by over 2.3% during Wednesday’s trading in Paris.
Notably, the Africa and Middle East segment reported a substantial 11% revenue increase.
Despite these mixed results, Orange reiterated its full-year outlook, anticipating low single-digit growth in EBITDAaL and a minimum organic cash flow of 3.3 billion euros from telecom activities.
Morgan Stanley analysts commented on Orange’s performance, noting an acceleration in Group EBITDAaL growth to +2.3% year-over-year in Q1 2024, compared to +2.0% in Q4 2023. They highlighted improvements in France, where EBITDAaL had faced pressure last year due to energy costs and weaker wholesale profits.
