Orange says no need for more provisions in French antitrust case
PARIS (Reuters) - Orange said on Wednesday it did not need additional provisions to cover an antitrust case in France after a newspaper report said the French telecoms group faced a fine of more than 500 million euros (£354 million).
Le Figaro said on its website that France's competition authority could fine Orange for past abuse of a dominant position in the business market for mobile and fixed-line communications.
The newspaper said without citing its sources the authority could make a decision before Dec. 25. A spokeswoman for the competition authority had no comment.
Orange said in a statement that the case had been triggered by complaints from rivals in 2008 and 2010 and had been noted in public documents from the company every year since 2009.
"Orange is cooperating with the Competition Authority, which allows us to consider that it will not be necessary to book additional provisions for this," it said, adding that as a result it confirmed its financial targets for 2015 and beyond.
(Reporting by Matthias Blamont and Gwenaelle Barzic; writing by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Greg Mahlich)
