RTTNews | Jul 29, 2021 02:30AM EDT

02:30 Thursday, July 29, 2021 (RTTNews.com) - French telecom major Orange SA (ORAN) reported Thursday that its first-half net loss was 2.61 billion euros, compared to last year's profit of 1.02 billion euros.

Operating loss was 1.75 billion euros, compared to last year's 2.22 billion euros. The decrease mainly reflected a goodwill impairments in Spain of 3.70 billion euros reflecting the downward revision of the short-term outlook.

Group EBITDAaL was 5.84 billion euros in the first half of 2021, down 1.3 percent on a reported basis and down 0.4 percent on comparable basis.

Orange group revenues were 20.87 billion euros, up 0.5 percent from 20.77 billion euros last year. Revenues grew 1.5 percent year on year on a comparable basis.

In the second quarter, EBITDAaL dropped 1.2 percent to 3.27 billion euros, while revenues grew 1.7 percent to 10.55 billion euros.

There were 11.2 million convergent customers across the Group at 30 June 2021, an increase of 3.4 percent year on year.

Looking ahead for fiscal 2021, the company continues to expect stable but negative EBITDAaL.

The company said its growth drivers allow the Group to confirm its 2023 objectives.

Orange will make an interim dividend payment of 0.30 euros in cash on December 15. In respect of the 2021 financial year, a dividend of 0.70 euros per share will be proposed to the 2022 Shareholders' Meeting.

Stphane Richard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Orange group, said, "In line with our Engage 2025 strategic plan, the Group's vision remains firmly focused on creating long-term value for all of our stakeholders. Our growth engines - Africa and the Middle East, Europe, the B2B market, cyberdefence, banking and our infrastructure - all have good momentum and we're beginning to gather the fruits of our investments. This allows us to reiterate with confidence our objectives for 2023."

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