STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Orange rises on confident guidance

Shares in Orange (Other OTC: FNCTF - news) rise close to 8 percent to a four-month high, more than reversing the last week's declines, after France's largest telecom operator forecasts stable margins this year in a sign of confidence on its outlook.

Orange says it expects to achieve earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of between 12.1 billion and 12.6 billion euros this year. This compares with the current Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S poll average for 2014 EBITDA of 12.08 billion.

"2014 outlook bullish on EBITDA stabilisation," Jefferies analysts write. "Guides to 12.1-12.6 billion euro range ... looks confident, aggressive."

A Paris-based trader adds: "We believe it is an encouraging guidance."

Orange finance head Gervais Pellissier tells journalists that the group returned to levels of commercial activity at the end of 2013 not seen since 2009, particularly in France.

Orange says it won close to 700,000 additional mobile clients last year, giving it a subscriber base higher than it had even before the arrival of Iliad (Paris: FR0004035913 - news) 's low-cost Free Mobile service in January 2012 set off a price war in its domestic market.

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Reuters messaging rm://james.regan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net