Orange Group has posted a 0.8% year-on-year increase in its revenues in the third quarter, driven primarily by very strong growth in Africa and the Middle East.
The company’s latest results show that its revenues in Q3 amounted to €10,577 million, while EBITDAaL was up 0.2% to €3,615 million and CAPEX 1% to €1,724 million.
In its home market France, revenues in Q3 amounted to €4,548 million in Q3, down 0.4% on a year earlier, while in neighbouring Spain they were 2.5% lower at €1,310 million.
Growth was strongest in Africa and the Middle East, up 7.6% to €1,447 million.
The group ended Q3 with 10.7 million convergent customers, up 4.1% on a year earlier and thanks to very strong growth in Europe. Fixed broadband customers totalled 20.5 million, up 3.2% and reflecting the acceleration of FTTH deployment, particularly in France.
In his comments on the results, Stéphane Richard, chairman and CEO of Orange Group, said: “These results further attest to the relevance of our very high-speed broadband network strategy. In fixed, the strong commercial momentum achieved in fibre, supported by our investments, is clear: we reached more than 7 million fibre customers in Europe this quarter, an increase of 25% compared to last year. This can be seen in France in particular where we achieved 178,000 net additions, a record figure for a third quarter. The launch of the Livebox 5 at the beginning of October should also maintain this momentum”.
He also said: “These results lead us to confirm all our objectives for 2019. Orange also extends an invitation to all of its stakeholders to join the presentation on 4 December of its new strategic plan up to 2025”.