Orange’s Growth Now Comes From Africa, Not France
WEST AFRICA · TELECOM
Key Facts
—The engine. Orange’s Africa and Middle East zone lifted first-half revenue 13.9 percent to €4.576 billion, about US$5.2 billion, with EBITDAaL — the group’s core profit measure — up 16.1 percent to €1.762 billion.
—The comparison. France grew 1.2 percent, its six other European markets 4.1 percent, and the business division shrank 3.1 percent.
—The margin gap. The zone runs a 38.5 percent EBITDAaL margin against 29.3 percent for the group, on close to 22 percent of consolidated revenue.
—Guidance raised. For the second time in three months Orange lifted its outlook, to annual EBITDAaL growth above 4 percent from more than 3 percent in April, and organic cash flow of about €4.3 billion.
—The customer base. 180 million mobile customers in the zone, 98 million on 4G and 52 million using Orange Money, the last up 20.7 percent in a year.
—Senegal’s showcase. Sonatel passed 1,000 billion CFA francs of half-year revenue for the first time, reaching 1,049.8 billion on a 48.7 percent EBITDAaL margin.
The Orange Africa results published on 28 July show where a French telecoms group’s growth now comes from: the Africa and Middle East zone lifted revenue 13.9 percent and core profit 16.1 percent, while France managed 1.2 percent. Orange itself named the zone first among the reasons it raised full-year guidance.
What the Orange Africa results show
The numbers are not close. Across a zone in which Orange counts 18 countries, Jordan the only non-African one, half-year revenue rose 13.9 percent to €4.576 billion and EBITDAaL rose 16.1 percent to €1.762 billion.
EBITDAaL is the measure Orange leads on: earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, after lease costs. The company called it the zone’s strongest EBITDAaL growth since 2021.
Set that against the rest of the group. France grew 1.2 percent, the six other European markets 4.1 percent, and the business-services division contracted a further 3.1 percent.
The margin gap is starker than the growth gap. The zone earns a 38.5 percent EBITDAaL margin against 29.3 percent for Orange as a whole, on close to 22 percent of consolidated revenue.
Chief executive Christel Heydemann put the zone first among the half’s achievements, citing “record growth” in Africa and the Middle East with ten million new mobile data customers. The results release guides to double-digit EBITDAaL growth for the division in the second half.
Why that moved the group’s guidance
For the second time in three months Orange revised its outlook upward, to annual EBITDAaL growth above 4 percent from more than 3 percent in April, and organic cash flow near €4.3 billion rather than €4 billion.
The company credits three things for the upgrade, not one: performance in Africa and the Middle East, performance in Europe, and seven months of consolidating the Spanish business MasOrange. Africa is the largest single contributor to growth, which is not the same as being the largest business.
On that distinction the numbers are clear. France still produced €2.959 billion of EBITDAaL in the half against the zone’s €1.762 billion, so Africa is the engine rather than the bulk.
Group revenue reached €20.948 billion, up 3.5 percent, with EBITDAaL of €6.128 billion, up 5 percent. Orange notes that stripping out one-off French wholesale items would leave underlying growth nearer 3 percent and 3.7 percent — a caveat that does not apply to the African figures.
Senegal is the clearest example
Sonatel, the West African operator Orange controls and runs, covers Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone. It crossed 1,000 billion CFA francs of half-year revenue for the first time, reaching 1,049.8 billion, about US$1.8 billion, up 9.3 percent.
Net income came in at 230 billion CFA francs, 10.5 percent higher and equal to 22 percent of revenue. Its EBITDAaL margin was 48.7 percent, a level few European operators approach.
The investment is real rather than harvested. Sonatel put 154 billion CFA francs into its networks over the period, equal to 15 percent of revenue, and its director general Brelotte Bâ attributed the results to fibre and high-speed broadband roll-out.
Where the growth is thinning
One line deserves a closer look. Sonatel’s Orange Money base grew only 9.5 percent, to 13.7 million active users, roughly half the pace of the zone as a whole.
The reason is competition rather than saturation. In Senegal, Orange faces Wave, the Dakar-based, American-founded mobile-money company that has durably compressed the price of transfers.
Since February it has also faced Starlink on broadband there. The question in that market is no longer how many users a network has but what margin survives per transaction.
Coverage still has a long way to run. The zone’s 4G footprint gained two points to reach 80 percent of the population, which also means one person in five in those countries is still outside it.
The parent needs cash for Europe
The African results arrive at a specific moment in the group’s calendar. On 8 June Orange completed the €4.25 billion purchase of the half of MasOrange held by the Lorca fund, taking full ownership.
Two days earlier it signed an outline agreement with Bouygues Telecom and Free to carve up SFR, valued at €20.35 billion, of which roughly €5.6 billion would fall to Orange. That one is far from done: definitive documents are expected in the second half of this year, completion possibly not until late 2027, and Orange states plainly that there is no certainty at this stage that the transaction will happen.
The debt is already real, though. Net debt went from €22.5 billion at the end of 2025 to €35.7 billion by 30 June, mostly on MasOrange, lifting net debt to EBITDAaL from 1.80 to 2.40 times.
The group insists the African networks are not paying for that. Capital spending in the zone rose 18.7 percent to €890 million while it fell 2.4 percent elsewhere, and at 19.4 percent of revenue the zone’s investment intensity is well above the 14 percent spent in the rest of the group.
The tension is nonetheless structural. The fastest-growing, highest-margin part of a listed European company is the part furthest from its shareholders and its regulators.
What it means for the rest of the market
Orange is not alone in this position. MTN, Airtel Africa and the Moroccan and Emirati operators all earn margins in Africa that their European peers cannot match, which is why control of these subsidiaries keeps changing hands.
The direction of travel has begun to reverse in places. Ghana’s Telecel bid for a British wholesale network this month, an African operator buying European infrastructure rather than the other way round.
For an outside investor the lesson is narrower than the headline. African telecoms is now a cash-generating business rather than a frontier bet, and the competitive threat comes from local fintechs and satellites rather than from other incumbents.
What to watch
The second-half guidance is the first checkpoint, because double-digit EBITDAaL growth in the zone is a demanding promise against tougher comparatives. The second is Orange Money, where price competition is already visible in the Senegalese numbers.
The third is capital allocation. If the SFR deal firms up and use stays near 2.4 times, the test of the group’s stated priorities will be whether African capital spending keeps rising at 18 percent.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did Orange’s African business earn in the first half of 2026?
Its Africa and Middle East zone reported revenue of €4.576 billion, about US$5.2 billion, up 13.9 percent, with EBITDAaL of €1.762 billion, up 16.1 percent.
Why did Orange raise its full-year guidance?
It credits performance in Africa and the Middle East, performance in Europe, and seven months of consolidating MasOrange. The new outlook is EBITDAaL growth above 4 percent, against more than 3 percent guided in April.
How profitable is Orange in Africa compared with Europe?
The Africa and Middle East zone runs a 38.5 percent EBITDAaL margin against 29.3 percent for the group, while France grew revenue just 1.2 percent in the half. France is still the larger profit pool, at €2.959 billion of EBITDAaL against the zone’s €1.762 billion.
What is Sonatel and how did it perform?
Sonatel is the West African operator Orange controls, covering Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone. It passed 1,000 billion CFA francs of half-year revenue for the first time, reaching 1,049.8 billion on a 48.7 percent EBITDAaL margin.
What is slowing Orange down in Africa?
Mobile money. Sonatel’s Orange Money base grew only 9.5 percent as Wave, the Dakar-based mobile-money company, pushed down transfer prices, and Starlink has competed on broadband in Senegal since February.
Connected Coverage
The same logic drove Bharti Airtel’s move on Airtel Africa and, in reverse, Telecel’s bid for a British backbone; pay-television is consolidating in Canal+ and MultiChoice, networks are being rebuilt in Rwanda’s plan to switch off 2G, the wider contest is in Africa: The New Scramble, and the regional hub is Western Africa. Primary source: Orange’s half-year results release.
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