French mobile and broadband operator Bouygues Telecom reported sales up 5 percent to EUR 2.87 billion in the first half, including network-only sales up 3 percent to EUR 2.58 billion. EBITDA declined by 9 percent to EUR 665 million, and net profit fell by 19 percent to EUR 213 million. Bouygues Telecom signed up 206,000 mobile contract customers in the first six months of the year, for 21 percent of net market growth. The operator had 11.19 million total customers at the end of June, 80 percent on mobile, up 1.3 percentage points versus a year earlier. Bouygues signed up 215,000 new fixed broadband customers in the first half, including 83,000 in the second quarter, reaching a total of 1.02 million fixed broadband customers at the end of the period. Parent company Bouygues has announced a proposed share repurchase tender offer of EUR 1.25 billion, up to 11.7 percent of its share capital, at EUR 30 per share. This represents a 30 percent premium on the closing share price of 30 August. The group will cancel the repurchased shares. Following independent appraisal of the financial terms of the offer, it will be submitted for approval by an EGM on 10 October. The offer, which will also be subject to approval from French financial markets regulator AMF, would be expected to run from 11 to 31 October.
