Orange: 2020 earnings inflated by tax income

(CercleFinance.com) - Orange has reported net profit that is up 56.
9% to 5.05 billion euros for 2020, inflated by a tax benefit relating to a decision by the Council of State on a former tax dispute. Meanwhile, its EBITDA slipped 1.4% to 12.68 billion euros (-1% on a comparable basis).

At 42.27 billion euros, its annual revenue was pretty flat (up 0.1% on a reported basis and 0.3% on a comparable basis), with the group saying that this is thanks to the excellent performance in Africa and the Middle East (up 5.2%) and the strength of France (up 1.6%).

For 2020, the telecoms operator's AGM will decide on a dividend of 0.70 euro per share, meaning that it has a balance of 0.50 euro to pay. In 2021, Orange notably expects organic cash flow from telecoms activities to exceed 2.2 billion euros.

The Orange share is currently the sharpest faller in a flat market in Paris, down over 4.5% in early trading on Thursday.


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