Orange share price down, sees earnings fall in 2015

Orange SA projected on Tuesday lower earnings in the year ahead as the telecoms operator faces severe competition at home, but promised to keep its dividend stable via cost reductions.

Europes largest mobile operator estimated it would deliver between €11.9 billion and €12.1 billion in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization during 2015.

However, the projection is lower than the €12.19 billion that Orange stated in 2014.

The Paris-based company also projected revenues to fall in the year ahead, but at a slower pace compared to 2014, when the figure dropped 2.5% to €39.45 billion.

The estimate of a smaller revenue loss might be indicating that Orange has better means to compete with rivals in its domestic market, which has undergone significant change since Iliad SA entered the race in 2012.

Controlled by its founder Xavier Niel, Iliad quickly became the third-largest mobile operator in France via aggressive pricing and user friendly offers. Iliad, which is also the third-largest internet service provider, took market share from nearly all competitors and forced them to reduce their prices and increase cost cuts at the same time.

Revenue in the fourth quarter slid 1.6% to €10.05 billion, a smaller drop compared to the previous quarter and also better than analysts projections.

Sales at home fell 1.8% to €4.87 billion in the three moths to December as the company put an end to price cuts and also benefited from the release of high-end smartphones, including the iPhone 6.

In 2014 Orange spent 14.3% of its annual revenue on investments in very high-speed fixed and mobile broadband. Capital expenditure was 1.3% higher than the prior year and is expected to increase even further in 2015.

Thanks to the upgrade the companys 4G network now covers 74% of the population in France and 70% in Spain, its second-biggest market.

Net profit for the year fell 51% to €925 million as charges unrelated to operating performance took their toll.

Despite the decrease, Orange confirmed that it will deliver the same dividend as last year at €0.60 per share in 2015.

“These results confirm our strategic choices and give us the means to pursue our investments so that we can strengthen our leadership even more,” said Chief Executive Stéphane Richard.

Orange gained 0.93% on Monday and closed at €16.35 in Paris. On Tuesday the stock fell 2.08% to €16.00 at 12:35 GMT, marking a one-year increase of 73.44%. The company is valued at €43.30 billion.

According to the Financial Times, the 21 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Orange have a median target of €16.00, with a high estimate of €22.00 and a low estimate of €12.00. The median estimate represents a 2.11 % decrease from the last closing price.