6 of new customers bringing its fleet to 5

The results of France Telecom for the 1 semester were greeted by a decrease in the course of 1.45, in addition to the 23 drop registered since the beginning of the year. Explanation: the operator has revised downward its forecast for growth in 2006. "It will be difficult to achieve 2," admitted the Financial Director, Gervais Pellissier. Already, in January, the growth forecast was reviewed downwards, from a range of 3 to 5 to 2.

"Still a ' profit warning'", deplored the DKW analysts. "This is the 3rd revision of the growth in nine months", abounds with a Parisian counterpart, which recognizes that growth slowed between the first and the second quarter: "the magnitude of this slowdown is a bad surprise."

However, the courts backed that moderately because most large world did to a growth of 2. In addition, the operator confirmed its objectives of profitability for 2006: a cash flow of EUR 7 billion and a gross operating margin (Ebitda) fell by 1 to 2 points. However, this margin moves already 2 points in the first half, and even 2.4 points in the second quarter. Therefore "at best at the bottom of its range", the operator will be predicted JP Morgan.

"Keeping forces".

Official explanation: "the environment is always as busy", said CEO Didier Lombard. "In times of high processing, better keep the forces for the future, says Gervais Pellissier.". Is it smart to spend a lot of money to recruit customers who will not remain not necessarily long

With this in mind, the result of the sale of PagesJaunes (3.3 billion, but only 1.5 billion if you deducted dividends for 3 years), will "go directly to the debt reduction Planner." "This reassure those who thought that we would be a large operation with this money," said Gervais Pellissier. A buyback of minority interests (Mobistar, TPSA...) is excluded for this year. In fiber optics, "we said that we did not deploy in 2008." "We will start when the regulator we can a return for shareholders."

In detail, analysts are disappointed with the results of the mobile. "The mobile more compensates the decline of the fixed", wrote one Paris analyst. JP Morgan said it was regrettable that the situation of Orange in the UK "empire", with a decline in margins, sales and the number of clients. Orange France, "growth slows down and it will be difficult to reach 2 growth planned." The hexagonal subsidiary lost in three months customers 200,000 prepaid, resulting in total by a decline of 68,000 of the number of clients (a first), fortunately compensated for by the client 172.000 recruited by virtual operators hosted by Orange. The CEO of Orange, Didier Quillot explanation: "with its offers Neo, Bouygues Telecom improves its market share of net sales and gross sales. Over the same period, SFR has won customer 87,000, over 89,000 on its MVNO.

In the ADSL in France, the operator has recruited on the quarter 50.6 of new customers, bringing its fleet to 5.2 million (49.8 of the total fleet). Unbundling is 3.5 million lines, including 2.11 million totally. The strength of the Group was reduced 4.194 people in one year to fall to 199.663.