The French operator has since claimed the country’s ongoing price war is beginning to stabilise.
As the Financial Times reports, Orange’s second-quarter results reflects an impact from the arrival of low-cost operator, Iliad, last year, which forced revenues down 11.5% compared to the previous year.
The group had said that despite this, the average price per user in France had stabilised.
Unfortunately for Europe’s fourth largest telecoms firm, French authorities have also ordered a tax payment relating to the group’s restructuring in 2005. This announcement caused shares to drop more than 4% this morning, though analysts warn it could rise to as much as 6%.
The tax payment must be made in two parts, in July and September, though the company said it would appeal the decision.
The latest development follows an admission from Orange yesterday in which its CFO, Gervais Pellissier, said that EE’s IPO won’t happen before 2014.
