Robust retail commercial performance in France, Europe and Africa & Middle East
By Francois Giudice, Bureau Chief, France
Orange group revenues rose slightly in the first half[1] (+0.3% or 67 million euros) thanks to growth in retail services (+2.1% or +312 million euros) and a smaller decline in wholesale services (-4.4% or -129 million euros). Equipment sales were in line with market trends (-5.8% or -75 million euros).
In terms of commercial performance, the Group maintained its leadership position in convergence in France and in Europe, with a total of 9.2 million convergent customers (+1.5%), as well as its commercial momentum in mobile contracts and very high-speed fixed broadband accesses. Mobile services had 261.6 million accesses worldwide (+6.4%) including 98.1 million contracts (+7.8%). Fixed services had 38.0 million accesses worldwide (-2.2%), with 22.4 million fixed broadband accesses (+4.4%), of which 15.5 million were very high-speed broadband accesses, an area of continued strong growth (+13.3%).
Africa & Middle East was the main contributor to growth, with revenues rising strongly (+12.8% or +469 million euros).
Revenues in France decreased (-2.2% or -193 million euros) but retail services were stable (-0.2% or -10 million euros), with growth of 0.9% excluding PSTN[2], while wholesale services declined as expected (-6.8% or -148 million).
European revenues were stable. Retail services (excluding IT&IS) grew 1.2per cent (+27 million euros). IT and Integration Services grew 7.7 per cent (+18 million euros), while low-margin revenues were down.
The decrease in Orange Business revenues (-5.4% or -213 million euros) was mainly due to the decline in revenues from Fixed-only (-7.6% or -115 million euros) and mobile (-8.0% or -39 million euros). Good momentum continued in Orange Cyberdefense with revenues up 6.9 per cent (+39 million euros).
Group EBITDAaL rose 4.2 per cent in the second quarter. In the first half of 2025, it reached 5,675 million euros (+3.8% or +207 million euros). This growth was driven by the remarkable performance of Africa & Middle East (+12.8%), accelerated growth in France (+0.9%) and a solid performance in Europe (+2.2%). Orange Business continued to improve (-5.2%). EBITDAaL from telecom activities grew to 5,709 million euros (+2.9%).
The Group posted consolidated net income of 1,167 million euros for the first half of 2025, excluding a net provision of 1,272 million euros, recorded in the first semester related to the agreement on Employment and Career Path Planning for France (Gestion des Emplois et des Parcours Professionnels – GEPP) signed in February 2025 and mainly related to the 2025–2028 French part time for seniors plan. The consolidated net income, including GEPP, amounts to -105 million euros.
Net income attributable to owners of the parent company was -398 million euros. Earnings per share Group (EPS) excluding the impact of the GEPP provision net of tax amounted to 0.29 euros.
eCAPEX1 was 3,023 million euros in the first half of 2025, up 4.1 per cent, in particular to support growth in Africa & Middle East. eCAPEX for telecom activities as a percentage of revenues was 15.2 per cent, in line with the target for the year. The number of households connectable to FTTH1 reached 62.9 million (+9.3%) and the FTTH1 customer base increased to 14.4 million (+14.2%).
Organic cash flow from telecom activities1 reached 1,670 million euros at 30 June 2025, in line with the target of at least 3.6 billion euros by the end of 2025. The significant improvement in cash flow generation of 7.7 per cent year on year (+119 million euros) is mainly due to the improvement in operating cash flow, driven by “EBITDAaL-eCAPEX” indicator growth and change in working capital.
Free cash flow all-in from telecom activities1 was 1,086 million euros, down 13.5 per cent year on year due to license payment phasing.
Net financial debt amounted to 23,294 million euros, an increase of 812 million euros compared to 31 December 2024, following in particular the purchase of subordinated notes. The ratio of net financial debt to EBITDAaL from telecom activities of 1.88x at 30 June 2025 is in line with the target of approximately 2x over the medium term. The liquidity position of telecom activities of 16,160 million euros is solid and the average cost of gross debt is 3.06 per cent.
During the first half of 2025, Orange continued its initiatives to create sustainable value.
In May, Orange issued a sustainable bond of 750 million euros with a 10-year maturity.
To reduce its environmental impact:
Orange exceeded its 2025 target of reducing its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30 per cent compared to 2015, reducing them by 41 per cent.
Orange’s “Partners to net zero carbon” programme, which aims to accelerate the environmental transition by co-creating significant actions with suppliers to reduce GHG emissions, saw the signing of its first progress plan with Camusat, Orange’s long-standing telecom infrastructure provider in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
To foster digital inclusion:
The number of beneficiaries who have received free digital training since 2021 has reached 2.9 million, in line with the target.
To strengthen digital trust:
Orange Business created a division dedicated to defense and security, launched a service designed to protect its customers from quantum cyber attacks and received the SecNumCloud qualification for its Cloud Avenue SecNum platform.
