Orange Targets 5% Annual Revenue Growth in Africa, Middle East

Orange aims to grow revenue from its Africa and Middle East operation by about five percent a year through 2018 and is looking for expansion opportunities in the region, Chief Financial Officer Ramon Fernandez said.

That is key since the long-term trend for Orange revenue in France and Europe has been negative since at least 2012.

Orange sees Africa and the Middle East as key to the French company's future.

Orange has about 100 million subscribers in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal and Mali among other countries, and they brought in nearly 10 percent of group sales last year. Revenues from the region rose by seven percent to reach 4.29 billion euros, generating operating profit of 1.4 billion euros.