07/29/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/29/2021 00:14
Revenue growth acceleration in Q2 and near stable EBITDAaL
Outlook for 2021
The Group is maintaining its financial objectives for 2021 as announced on 18 February 2021, namely:
As a reminder, these targets take into account the allocation of the 2.2 billion-euro tax refund received at the end of 2020 after the French Council of State found in the Group's favor in a long-running tax dispute, which is intended to generate long-term added value for the Group but will have an impact on objectives in the short term.
Dividend
Orange will make an interim dividend payment of 0.30 euros in cash on 15 December 2021.
In respect of the 2021 financial year, a dividend of 0.70 euros per share will be proposed to the 2022 Shareholders' Meeting.
Commenting on the publication of these results, Stéphane Richard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Orange group, said:
'During the second quarter the Orange Group's growth accelerated, driven in particular by our outstanding performance in Africa and Middle East. In France our consumer market commercial results bear witness to our resilience and have contributed to the near stabilisation of EBITDAal, in a context of the accelerated transformation of our business model from copper to fiber.
The Enterprise market, whose transformation towards IT & integration services continues, is also experiencing strong momentum thanks to revenues from Cybersecurity, Cloud and Digital & Data. In Spain, where the overall context has worsened obliging us to book a significant impairment to the value of our assets, the new management team has set in motion its strategy to reposition our offers and the commercial performance is positive.
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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On 28 July 2021, Orange SA's Board of Directors reviewed the consolidated half-year financial statements and management report for the period ended 30 June 2021. In accordance with auditing standards, the Group's auditors conducted a limited review of the half-year accounts and verified the information given in the half-year management report.
More detailed information on the Group's financial results and performance indicators is available on the Orange website www.orange.com/en/consolidated-results.