Tuesday, February 3, 2004

France Telecom Posts Higher Profits, Reaches 3 Million DSL

Tuesday, February 03, 2004    

France Telecom's 2003 overall revenues increased 3.4% on a comparable basis (-1.1% on a historical basis) to EUR 46.121 billion , driven by growth of wireless and DSL. Following a year of financial restructuring, the company posted operating income reached EUR 9.5 billion at the end of 2003, a 45.5% increase on a comparable basis (40.3% on a historical basis). Some highlights of its financial report:

  • Orange was serving nearly 50 million wireless customers at the end of 2003. Non-voice services experienced strong growth, representing 12.7% of network revenues at the end of 2003, up from 10.7% at the end of 2002. ARPU rose 10.5% in France and 4.3% in the UK for the year.

  • ADSL related revenues in France increased by 88% to EUR 744 millions.

  • France Telecom had more than 3 million ADSL lines in service at the end of 2003 (excluding unbundled local loops). The company hopes to have 4.5 million ADSL customers by the end of 2004. It also aims to achieve 95% DSL coverage of its local access lines in France by the end of 2005. The company launched a TV-over-DSL service in December.

  • The rate of decline in France Telecom's fixed line local market share slowed significantly in 2003. France Telecom had 75.8% of the market for local calls at 31-Dec-2003, a decrease of 5.1 percentage points, compared to a loss of 15.9 points in 2002. In the long distance market, France Telecom had a market share of 61.8%, representing a decline of 2.5 points in market share for 2003.

  • France Telecom's net debt decreased to an estimated EUR 45 billion at year end 2003, compared to EUR 68 billion at year-end 2002

  • For 2004, France Telecom is targeting revenue growth of 3% to 5% on a comparable basis; operating income before depreciation and amortization of more than EUR 18 billion; and CAPEX / revenues ratio of approximately 11%.
http://www.francetelecom.com
  • In December 2003, France Telecom, in partnership with TPS, announced the commercial launch of TV-over-DSL services. "MaLigne tv" initially is available in Lyon. It will be extended to Paris in spring 2004 followed by a rollout in other French cities. TPS is a content distributor that is jointly owned by French TV stations TF1 and M6.
    http://www.convergedigest.com/DSL/lastmilearticle.asp?ID=9740