Orange UK Broadband Customers Continue Exodus; Mobile Subs Improve Slightly

• By Dianne See Morrison
• On 8:19 am EDT, Thursday October 29, 2009

Orange UK saw the number of its ADSL customers drop once again, thanks to continued competitive pressures. In its third quarter earnings reported today, the number of subscribers dropped 12.2 percent to 899,000 compared to 1.023 million a year ago.

Mobile subscriber numbers showed a small improvement, rising 1.9 percent for a total of 16,110 customers. Mobile broadband remains Orange UK's bright spot, with customer numbers surging 64 percent year on year to 4.717 million.

Parent France Telecom (NYSE: FTE - News) noted that its UK operations was feeling the pinch of the recession more keenly than its other territories, as well as being hit by an unfavourable exchange rate and regulatory measures. UK revenues were down 15.3 percent to €1.277 billion, with ADSL services seeing a 12.7 percent drop and mobile revenues down 6.8 percent.

Overall, France Telecom's third-quarter profit was down 8 percent to €4.56 billion, as sales fell to €12.7 billion from €13.6 billion. The company blamed the ongoing recession and regulatory issues for hurting revenues. It's French operations, however, continues to be "resilient,' thanks in part to its strong mobile operations there, helped in part to iPhone sales. Overall, France Telecom's total subscriber numbers climbed 6.6 percent year on year to 189.1 million customers at 30 September 2009. Total mobile subscribers, excluding MVNO's, climbed 9.5 percent year on year, for a total of 128.8 million at the quarter's end. Its MVNO customer base, meanwhile, jumped 35.5 percent to 3.8 million at the end of the quarter. ADSL broadband services grew more modestly, increasing 6 percent year on year to 13.4 million customers.

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