All World

France Telecom "may appease the social climate"

After two days of contacts with the new CEO of France Telecom, Stephane Richard, and Chief Financial Officer Gervais Pellissier, the Oddo Securities analysts draw conclusions rather reassuring: the new management team "has the qualities needed to improve the social climate within the group, without deteriorating financial goals.

Stephane Richard, who replaced Didier Lombard on 1 March, has confirmed giving priority to the alleviation of social relations within the group.Oddo Securities said in a note published today have felt the new management as "very attentive, controlling well the great social, financial, and fellows of the group and sector, and wishing to show more transparency and sense that commercial shine.

Social criteria are taken into account for the premiums

Among the concrete steps, variable pay (bonuses) for a little over a thousand leaders in France will now be indexed to 50% on financial criteria (against 80% previously), to 20% on quality criteria Services (unchanged), and 30% on social criteria (non-existent before), if possible, quantifiable as absenteeism.

Furthermore, agreement with unions was recently signed to the senior part-time and mobility.And an action plan is provided, internally, to "motivate all the teams around unifying themes, they add, such as quality of service, accountability teams decentralizing some decision-making, improved working conditions, etc..

Management believes these new devices n'impacteront hardly the finances of France Telecom, which has already made "significant restructuring since 2002," says Oddo, who adds that the cost of social concessions is already integrated in the accounting 8 billion euros of cash flow in 2010.

The operational track

Besides the social side, management has raised a dynamic business "still very strong in the mobile in France and Great Britain. The target of 35% ADSL market share in 2010 is maintained.

Investments should be under control, "the group had no problem of saturation of its mobile networks. France Telecom does not accelerate but rather the deployment of 4G from mid-2011 if necessary, "says Oddo.

Considering all this information, the team of analysts expressed confidence in the ability of France Telecom to maintain its dividends "beyond 2011".

Acquisition strategy shy

No big acquisitions in sight. While St?phane Richard wants to promote growth in the long-term actions to respond to the stock market rising, it remains on the defensive. A shift could occur if a major consolidation movement was born.

France Telecom remains focused on some inexpensive targets outside Europe or purchases "in market" in the Old Continent.Oddo suspected a connection between Telenet and Mobistar, or rallying with a fixed player in Spain. In Britain, the broker anticipates that the joint venture Orange / T-Mobile UK will seek a buyer for its fixed network. Ultimately, it is also possible that the joint venture includes a British MNVO (MVNOs) like Virgin Mobile.

ALSO READ

St?phane Richard, an atypical reinvent France Telecom

"The inspection work overwhelms France Telecom