MILAN (Standard&Poor's) Dec. 17, 2004--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings and outlook on France's dominant telecommunications services provider France Telecom S.A. (FT; BBB+/Positive/A-2) remain unchanged following today's disclosure by FT's management that reporting its 2004 financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) would have resulted, among other adjustments, in €9.3 billion ($12.3 billion) of additional net debt. Standard&Poor's methodology when calculating credit ratios typically leads it to adjust total debt for certain off-balance-sheet commitments, such as operating leases and asset-back debt securities, as well as outstanding put options and any contingent liabilities that are reasonably likely to materialize. In France Telecom's case, adjustments to debt totaled about €10.5 billion
