Orange writes down $4.4 billion on weaker Spanish prospects

FILE PHOTO: A woman walks past the logo of French telecom operator Orange at the company headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, June 3, 2021. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

PARIS (Reuters) - Orange, France's biggest telecom firm, on Thursday announced a 3.70 billion-euro ($4.39 billion) impairment on the value of its Spanish activities reflecting competition that has hurt sales and profits in its second-largest market.

The group was forced to join a race to low-cost offers in Spain where six telecoms operators compete.