Orange Romania drives France Telecom into the red

“The operations of the Rest of World division continue to be affected by the deterioration in the economic environment, particularly in Romania, where revenues declined 18.1 percent [Ed. n. - at the end of September], and on the Enterprise segment, down 2.8 percent on a comparable basis,” France Telecom officials said. Excluding Romania and the effects of regulatory measures, the revenues of France Telecom’s Rest of World division would have increased two percent in Europe at the end of this year’s first nine months. “If we rule out the impact of regulatory measures, revenues fell 0.9 percent, after a 0.9 percent rise in the second quarter. The reversal in the third quarter was caused by the evolution of revenues in Romania, sharply affected by the unfavourable economic context and strong competitive pressures,” according to the operator’s financial report.

Meanwhile, Orange Romania revenues plunged 22.9 percent in Q3, to €269 million from €349 mln in Q3 2008. “Although indicators such as network traffic and the number of clients returned to an upward trend, revenues are still under pressure generated by the deterioration of economic conditions, regulations, and the decline in tariffs, as a measure to respond to the needs of residential and business clients in this time of economic downturn,” said Thierry Millet, CEO of Orange Romania. The annual average revenue per user (ARPU) also declined at the end of September, to €100, compared to €108 at the end of June, and to €114 in the Q1 2009. France Telecom’s revenues decreased 3.7 percent on a comparable basis in the third quarter 2009, which was still 1.5 points higher than the average GDP growth across the group’s footprint.