Paris - French telecommunications giant France Telecom said Thursday that its turnover for the third quarter of 2009 fell by 6.4 per cent, to 12.686 billion euros (18.7 billion dollars), compared to the same period last year.

Turnover for the first three quarters of the year was off by 4.3 per cent, compared to 2008, to 38.144 billion euros, the company said in a press statement.

The downturns were partly due to unfavourable rates of exchange with the Polish zloty and the British pound sterling, the company said.

While third-quarter earnings were down everywhere but Africa and the Middle East, France Telecom turnover sank particularly in Britain (minus 15.3 per cent) and Poland (off 29.3 per cent).

The company said it expects the trend to continue until at least the end of the year.

Despite the negative results, France Telecom's client base was actually up by 6.6 per cent, or 11.7 million customers, on September 30, 2009, over the same date last year. (dpa)