International Business News

France Telecom has hardened its dividend policy and its promise of deferred stock repurchases facing a price war triggered by the new entrant Free Mobile on the French market mobile telephony.

The incumbent, who on Wednesday released 2011 results consistent with its objectives, expected this year to give priority to the preservation of its balance sheet in a context of de gradation-than-expected economic conditions.

"2012 is the most difficult year for us," said Chief Financial Officer Gervais Pellissier during a conference call, considering that the group could reach a low point this year e before a possible rebound in 2013. 

"We do not imagine that the price war is very long in France. We started at a price level which is extremely low, "he said

. Free has an entry burst onto the market of mobile phones last month with two offers at bargain prices, forcing its competitors in place to review the rates down a portion of their offerings in an attempt to prevent ; expensive an exodus of their subscribers

. While the group led by Xavier Niel has not yet provided the number of subscriber s, France Telecom said on the other hand have lost 201,000 mobile customers from the beginning of the year and February 15, which represents approximately 0.7% of its fleet of 27 million customers in France

. Requests for subscribers seeking portability to switch operators while keeping their digital ; ro peaked at 150.000 requests per day within two days following the launch of Free Mobile, France Telecom said in a statement, adding that this figure has since been divided by ten.

NET CASH FLOW BACK TO THE 2012

In this context of increased competition in France, which still accounts for half of sales in Orange and more than 50% of its total EBITDA, France Telecom expects a significant decline in its operating cash flow expected to 8 billion euros for 2012, against 9.33 billion last year.

Sensed as a part of investors, the group announced an adjustment to its dividend policy.

The group now plans to pay under the 2012 and 2013 earnings to shareholders between 40% and 45% of operating cash flow for the year. 

The dividend should therefore be between 1.21 and 1.35 euros per share for 2012, instead of 1.40 euros previously promised by the group, Gervais Pellissier said.

Also in order to preserve its financial strength, France Telecom has also decided to postpone the redemption of shares, a time considered in the wake of the sale of the group's subsidiary in Switzerland for $ 1.5 billion.

"We believe that the financial circumstances of early 2012 did not allow to continue in that direction today," said Gervais Pellissier.

"It does not mean that there will be no buyback at France Telecom Orange but not in 2012," he added. 

EUROPEAN OPERATORS UNDER PRESSURE

These prudent measures reflect the challenges facing European telcos to continue to grow in an environment of increased regulatory and competitive pressures.

Telefonica has lowered its target for the December dividend it will pay under 2012 in order to control its debt in a context of sluggish economic growth in Spain.

Analysts said France Telecom could have even less hesitation than the dividend, far more generous, offered by the group did not result in a brilliant performance of its stock price in 2010 and 2011. 

"There is no doubt that the group saw little point in paying a dividend for which it has received little or no credit," say analysts at Bernstein Research in a note .

At 10:20, as the advance of 1.53% to 11.62 euros. Since the beginning of the year, it posted a drop of 4.0% compared with a decline of 0.85% of the telecoms sector index.

The full year 2011, the Group generated a turnover of 45.28 billion euros, against 45.27 billion expected on average according to Thomson Reuters I / B / E / S.

The adjusted EBITDA was $ 15.083 billion, giving a margin of 33.3%, limited decline of 1.1 points, thanks in particular to the resistance displayed by activities in France, despite already increased pressure on prices, most operators have anticipated since last year the arrival of Free. 

The group has seen its share of conquest in broadband up to 30.5% in 2011 thanks to the success of its offers "quad play" Open totaling 1.2 million customers in late last year.

Responding to the call of an Inter CFDT-CGT-FO-CFE/CGC, workers came on Monday morning in the large office of the factory, the cry of "Mittal, we want to work". Workers entered the "big offices" of the ArcelorMittal plant Florange Monday, February 20, 2012

Between 100 and 200 steelworkers have invested to 8:00 Monday in quiet premises of the factory management ArcelorMittal Florange (Moselle), said a journalist from AFP. Responding to the call of an Inter CFDT-CGT-FO-CFE/CGC, workers, mostly helmets, entered the "big offices" of the factory, shouting "Mittal, we want to work ". Arrived on the upper floors deserted by senior management and executives, they quickly made their flags and their richly colored jumpers in the great hall of the steering committee of the institution.  

"Today, Florange is ours, Florange is yours," he told a trade unionist to the cheers of his comrades. "As of right now, management is technically unemployed. We will remain in these offices as the blast furnaces of the plant will not restart," added the head of the CFDT, Edward Martin. "Today, we are masters on board," he said before a forest of microphones and cameras. "That candidates (President of the Republic, ed) who claim to love plants undertake to ensure the survival of the site," he said, promising "at least one action a week until May 6" date of the second round of the presidential election.

"The state has saved the Lejaby. Must intervene for us," said the official FO, Walter Broccoli. "If Mittal wants more Florange, let him go … But there is no way to dismantle the plant. We will not let him do it, "continued, looking very determined, trade unionist. Around 10:00, the protesters were comfortably installed in the administrative site where Moselle boiled coffee makers and where they concocted sandwiches. On sunny square, union officials chained interviews to television channels, one of which, NHK, had sent a team from Japan. By late morning, tents began to be erected on the lawns of the plant to "formalize" the occupation, said John Mangin, head of the CGT. "This will be the village of resistance where workers can come and talk, talk about their fight and defend their work tools," he added.  

This occupation is the first step of "nightmare" promised by unions to the government after management of ArcelorMitall announced last week that the two blast furnaces would restart the site does not in the second quarter. For unions, this decision would announce the "programmed death site" which employs some 5,000 people, including 3,000 permanent contracts. ArcelorMittal, which has recently decided the final closure of blast furnaces in Liege (Belgium) and Madrid, on the contrary that Lorraine ensures it is only a temporary standby necessary due to insufficient demand.

List of stocks covered Wednesday at the Paris Bourse, where the CAC 40 index was up 1.01% to 3,409.69 points at 24:08, notably supported by the comments of the governor of China's central bank promised Europe to support the crisis.

* Values ​​European BANK (2.46%) signed the largest increase in the sector in Europe for about the governor of the PBOC as investors also hope qu'Antonis Samaras, the leader of the Greek conservative party New Democracy, submit his written support for new austerity measures adopted in the country.

BNP PARIBAS (6.22%), which is expected this year to stabilize the crisis in the euro zone but does not anticipate a recession in Europe is ahead of increases in the CAC 40 and SBF 120 index. 

SOCIETE GENERALE advance of 4.11% and Crédit Agricole.

* The CYCLIC are well oriented. The French economy has withstood the fourth quarter with a growth surprise of 0.2%, thanks to foreign trade and investment, while activity ; contracted in Germany and Italy.

RENAULT wins 3.65%, 3.16% and STMICROELECTRONICS LAFARGE 2.2%. The pan-European Stoxx index of auto sector advance of 1.47% and 1.22% of the construction.

* In contrast, PSA was down 1.72%, largest drop in the CAC 40. The group announced new savings and a comprehensive plan for asset sales in order to redress the financial situation of the group after a year marked by a relapse in 2011 net profit.

Moody's placed the ratings under review with the manufacturer as possible downgrade.

* PAGESJAUNES fell 12%, largest drop in the SBF 120 volumes representing already seven times their daily volume the past three months. The group announced that its board would propose as an exceptional pass the dividend for 2011, after registering a decline in its revenues and profit margins last year.

* BIC (4.2%) released 2011 results sharply higher through its consumer business (stationery, lighters and razors) and said target operating margin for 2012 Standardized e "near the record level reached in 2011."

* DANONE (1.59%) stated address with confidence after 2012 achieved its growth targets for 2011 thanks to its good performance in emerging markets where the group re alise today more than half of its sales. 

* Haulotte Group (10.23%) leads to increases in the CAC Mid & Small, supported by the announcement of a 23% growth in turnover in 2011 of the truck manufacturer é ; lévateurs.

* Abandons EUROPACORP 2.55%, the producer and distributor of films that have shown a fall of 58.2% of its turnover in respect of its fiscal third quarter.

The U.S. company Spirit Airlines confirmed Wednesday an order for 75 A320 aircraft manufacturer Airbus, valued at seven billion dollars (5.3 billion) at list prices. The MoU, which was announced in mid-November at the Dubai air show, includes 45 A320neo, the enhanced single-aisle Airbus, a subsidiary of europe ; in EADS. The company has not announced the engine selected, the aircraft manufacturer said in a statement. 45 A320neo have been recorded in the order book in December 2011. The success of the A320neo, more fuel efficient, has allowed Airbus to sell almost twice as many planes as its U.S. rival Boeing in 2011, although it acknowledges that it will be difficult to keep the advantage in 2012, with the response of 737MAX, improved version of the aisle of his American rival.

On the eve of the 51th Paris Boat Show, the uncertainty is set at the manufacturers of pleasure boats in 2012, the sovereign debt crisis with little visibility, while the water sports market has improved slightly in 2010 / 2011.

French production increased 11% between September 2010 and August 2011, compared to the same period in 2009/2010, while the world market has increased slightly from 0% to 3%, said the Federation of Nautical Industries ( FIN).

"We are in a somewhat unique because our customers are there, the practice is growing, but at the same time we are in a period when accumulated outside the marine industry factors of concern," said Yves Lyon Caen, Vice President and President of the END of the supervisory board of Beneteau.

"The day there will be a release of the brakes, mainly psychological, the industry will rebound very important," he pointed out, however.

The rate of exports is 67% in 2010/2011, against 63.2% a year earlier.

"Line of precaution and Liquidity" provides a credit of the member states to meet their emergency needs. This is one of the G20 commitments in Cannes.

The International Monetary Fund announced Tuesday, November 22 creating a new lending instrument to "break the chains of contagion" of financial and economic crises. The institution said in a statement that its board had given its green light to the "Line of precaution and liquidity" (LPL), which had been promised by the G20 at its summit in Cannes (South East of France) earlier this month. The TPA provides a credit of the member states to meet their emergency needs.It "can be used as a source of liquidity, allowing an agreement six months to meet the needs of short-term balance of payments," said the IMF.

This device replaces another established in August 2010, the precautionary credit line, which has a single member state, Macedonia. The difference is that the old line of credit was designed to be held in reserve, while the news is expected to eventually be used immediately. Countries that are eligible are the same: those with a crisis, and have sound economic policies and undertake to maintain. Executive Director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, had said at the summit in Cannes that Italy could meet these criteria. To support this country, "the typical instrument we would use is a precautionary credit line.

The lobbying firm Clark Lytle & Geduldig Cranford offers 850,000 dollars to the Association of American banks to undermine media-movement Occupy Wall Street. These indignant protest against the Wall Street financial crisis behind, growing inequality and policy failures, they accuse of being subject to the bosses of finance or business. They claim to represent the aspirations of 99% of Americans, arguing that 1% of the population owns most of the wealth and is always preferred.

Lobbyists deemed related to banks, proposed a $ 850,000 plan to attack the movement Occupy Wall Street (OWS) and the politicians who would support him, reported Saturday the U.S. television network MSNBC.In a four-page memo, the Washington firm Clark Lytle & Geduldig Cranford (CLGC) propose to the Association of American banks (ABA) to conduct a "search" Occupy on Wall Street to "build a story negative" on the move , "to place in the media," and on "those who support them," according to the memo published by MSNBC. If the Democrats support OWS, "it would mean more than a temporary embarrassment for Wall Street. This can have an impact long-term political and financial companies for the heart" of Wall Street, the memo adds.

"It may be easy to dismiss OWS as a group of protesters demonstrated disordered but rather they should be treated as competing organized, highly skilled and able to work the media.

The European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) should be made operational as soon as possible, said Friday the president of the European Central Bank (ECB) Mario Draghi, showing some impatience vis-à-vis the slow progress to date this.

In a speech at the European Banking Congress, Mario Draghi said that the Heads of State and Government of the European Union had decided to launch the EFSF here over a year and a half and decided to leverage capacity four weeks ago.

"Where are we in the implementation of these decisions?" He asked."You must not wait any longer," he added.

The ECB president reiterated that the downside risks to the outlook in the euro area had increased and felt that this activity should moderate and weak pressure on prices, costs and wages.

Reducing to 1% GDP growth expectations in 2012, Nicolas Sarkozy warned that 6 to 8 billion euros in savings or additional revenues must be found.

While a half point of growth in less than about 5 billion shortfall for the state budget, the risk of a vicious circle is not excluded, the lowering of growth forecasts calling plans savings which in turn contribute to more depressed activity.

"You will never make me believe that with 1,000 billion of public expenditure, we can not find 5 billion savings," tempers, however, the rapporteur of the Finance Committee of the National Assembly, the UMP Gilles Carrez.

The New York Stock Exchange ended Thursday up 0.31%, the Dow Jones 30 Industrial winning 35.27 points to 11,539.89.

The S & P-500, wider, took 5.43 points, or 0.45% to 1215.31.

The Nasdaq Composite Index, however, declined 5.42 points (0.21%) to 2598.62.

These data are likely to vary even slightly.