France Telecom reported Q3 revenues of EUR 11.65 billion, a 2.7% decrease compared to Q3 2002 on a historical basis, which the company attributed to the sale of TDF and Casema, as well as the negative impact of exchange rates. On a comparable basis, France Telecom's Q3 2003 revenues increased 3.3%, driven by robust growth from Orange and Wanadoo. Some highlights:
- Orange added 1.3 million new customers in Q3, compared to 696,000 net additions in Q2 and 557,000 in Q1. At the end of Q3, Orange had a total of 46.9 million subscribers worldwide. In France, it holds a 49.2% share of the market, while in the U.K. it has a 26.4% share. Orange also experienced favorable ARPU trends in the quarter. Data now represents 12.5% of its network revenues. Orange's 3G network is on track for commercial launch in 2004. Hundreds of sites are now operational in the UK and France.
France Telecom added nearly 400,000 ADSL lines in Q3, giving it a total of 2.5 million lines in service at the end of the quarter. The company said it is on target to reach 3.0 million lines by the end of the year. Revenues from ADSL broadband Internet access (excluding revenues from Wanadoo clients) increased 23% compared to Q3 2002 due to the rapid development of ADSL in France. About two-thirds of the ADSL lines are served by Wanadoo and the remaining third by other ISPs and unbundled lines. A TV over ADSL trial is underway in Lyon.
At the end of Q3, France Telecom had 33.8 million access lines in service in France. It holds a 76.7% share of the local voice market and a 62.9% share of the long distance voice business. The company's fixed line business in France declined by 2.4% compared to a year earlier. France Telecom has launched new fixed-line handsets with SMS features.
Revenues from Business Services increased 2.1% on a historical basis and 0.3% on a comparable basis for Q3 2003 despite a difficult economic climate.
