In its latest results announcement, the Group said accelerated revenue growth in the quarter was driven by the performance of retail services, which benefited from price increases.
Retail services rose 4.3% in Q2 and more than offset the continued decline in revenues from wholesale services, which fell 4.1% in the quarter.
Equipment sales, the company said, again recorded strong growth with an 8% increase.
In its native France, there was a decrease of 1.3% in the second quarter, with the accelerated growth in retail services unable to offset “anticipated” decline in wholesale services revenues.
Orange expects that the price increases will yield results in the second half of the year.
In Europe, there was 2.7% growth, driven by Spain which confirmed its recovery with an increase of 2.1% - while Poland (+5.5%) and Belgium & Luxembourg (+3%) also recorded solid growth.
Africa & the Middle East continued to post strong growth rising 12% in Q2 with double-digit increases across all growth engines (mobile data, fixed broadband, Orange Money, B2B).
Christel Heydemann, CEO of the Orange group, said: “Our first-half results are in line with our objectives for 2023.
“They confirm the relevance of the implementation process initiated in the context of our 'Lead the Future' strategic plan and provide confidence for the achievement of our 2025 objectives.
“In Europe and in France, our quarterly results in retail services show the positive momentum of our value strategy, underpinned by price increases the benefits of which in France will be fully visible in the second half of the year.
“We can also confirm the continuing recovery in Spain, where EBITDAaL rose by 11% in this first half.
“The excellent performance in Africa and the Middle East is down to our investments in the network, the satisfaction of our customers and the very strong rebound of Orange Money.
The enterprise sector grew 2.4% in Q2 as a result of revenues from IT and integration services and mobile, which offset the structural decline in the voice and data legacy business.
In terms of commercial performance, the Group maintained its position in convergence with 11.6 million convergent customers group-wide.
“These results offset those of Orange Business, whose EBITDAaL was still sharply lower despite a 2.4% increase in revenues in the second quarter. Our teams are fully focused on executing our transformation plan there,” Heydemann added.
“I would like to express my sincere thanks for the work of all the Group's teams who dedicate themselves daily to the achievement of our objectives.”
