- Annual revenues for 2022 climbed 0.6%[1] due to continued strong growth in Africa & Middle East (+6.4%) and the solid performance of retail services (+2.0%), boosted by price increases introduced in each of the Group’s European countries.
- EBITDAaL reached almost 13 billion euros, rising 2.5% in line with the target, thanks to cost discipline. The robust performance of Africa & Middle East (+11.3%) fully offset the sharp decline in Enterprise (-18.8%). Europe grew 1.6% thanks to the recovery in Spain. All other segments contributed to EBITDAaL growth in 2022.
EBITDAaL rose significantly in the fourth quarter (+8.5%) as a result of price increases achieved in Europe and a base effect linked to the 2021 employee shareholding plan. Excluding this base effect, EBITDAaL grew 2.9%.
- Operating income of 4,801 million euros was 2,280 million euros higher year on year[2] held back by the impairment of Romania.
- Consolidated net income totaled 2,617 million euros, compared with 778 million euros in 2021[2].
- eCAPEX fell 0.7% to less than 7.4 billion euros, in line with the target, due to fiber roll-out in France reaching maturity.
- Organic cash flow from Telecom activities grew strongly to 3,058 million euros (+27.4% on a historical basis), in line with the target of at least 2.9 billion euros.
- The net debt to EBITDAaL ratio for telecom activities of 1.93x was in line with the medium-term target of around 2x.
- The Shareholders’ Meeting on 23 May 2023 will decide on the payment of a dividend of 0.70 euros per share for fiscal year 2022.
Financial targets
In 2023, Orange aims to achieve the following targets[3]:
- Slight growth in EBITDAaL
- Significant reduction in eCAPEX
- Organic cash flow from telecom activities of at least 3.5 billion euros
- Net debt/EBITDAaL ratio for telecom activities unchanged at around 2x in the medium term
For the 2023 fiscal year, we will increase the dividend floor to 0.72 euros per share, including an interim dividend of 0.30 euros per share to be paid in December 2023, subject to approval by the Shareholders’ Meeting.
Commenting on the publication of these results, Christel Heydemann, Chief Executive Officer of the Orange group, said:
“As we launch our new strategic plan “Lead the future”, I am proud to present these very solid results that deliver on all the objectives we set for the year, even in a context marked by strong inflation and geopolitical instability. I would like to highlight in particular the achievement of the growth ambition we set for EBITDAaL, with an increase of 2.5% for 2022. This performance was due to our “Scale up” operational efficiency programme that has delivered 700 million euros of cumulative net indirect cost savings since 2019, beating our objectives, as well as our ability to raise prices across our European footprint.
The Africa and Middle East region has delivered excellent results, with a notable performance from Orange Money in the fourth quarter which succeeded in repositioning itself in a competitive market. In France, where the market continues to evolve at pace, we had good commercial momentum driven by the high quality of our customers’ experience as well as our net fiber and mobile sales. Also worthy of note was the excellent commercial performance in Europe which relies on convergence to drive the success of premium offers. In Spain, the turnaround is well underway and we’re seeing the fruits of our work there particularly in the increased margins achieved in the second half. In the Enterprise segment, the ongoing transformation of business models calls for the rigorous action plan that we’re presenting today.
These results further confirm my confidence in the sense and relevance of our strategy for the years ahead. They clearly demonstrate the Group’s capacity to create value by concentrating on our fundamentals. I’d like to thank all of the Group’s teams around the world for their contribution to this performance. Today, we have a solid base from which to put our new strategic plan into action, working together and with determination. We’re targeting long-term growth and continual transformation to allow us to move forward both with agility and confidence.”
The Board of Directors of Orange SA met on 15 February 2023 to review the consolidated financial results at 31 December 2022. The Group’s Statutory Auditors have audited the Consolidated Financial Statements and the certification audit report will be issued in early March 2023.
More detailed information on the Group’s financial results and performance indicators is available on the Orange website www.orange.com/en/consolidated-results.
[1] Unless otherwise stated, the changes presented in this press release are on a comparable basis (i.e. excluding the effects of changes in the scope of consolidation and foreign exchange rates)
[2] Data on a historical basis
[3] These targets are based on comparable data and do not take into account mergers and acquisitions that have not yet been finalized.
