FT-Orange likely to slash 2012 dividends

France Telecom-Orange (FT-Orange) is thought to be considering a cut in its dividend payouts for shareholders this year following calls by unions to channel more funds towards network investments. As reported by CommsUpdate in June this year, 93% of shareholders at the firm’s annual investors meeting voted in favour of the board’s plan to keep the 2011 dividend at the previous year’s level of EUR1.40 (USD1.75) per share, rejecting a proposal put forward by employee shareholders which would have seen dividend payouts cut by almost 30%. A report from French newspaper Les Echos says the telco’s management is likely to reduce the dividend for 2012 to around EUR1.00, while the payout for 2013 could drop to EUR0.75. FT-Orange is facing increasing competition in its domestic market following the launch of low-cost mobile operator Free earlier this year.