News
Operator reports stable European performance, ongoing growth in Africa, Middle East, Asia Pacific.
Vodafone reported a 2.2% organic rise in fiscal first quarter service revenue on Friday, thanks to a stable performance in Europe and continued growth in Africa, the Middle East and Asia Pacific (AMAP).
In Europe, service revenue increased 0.3% on an organic basis year-on-year to €8.13 billion. Every one of Vodafone’s major European markets reported growth apart from the U.K., where service revenue fell by 3.2%, as a troubled migration to a new billing system drove churn.
Indeed, the company saw its mobile customer base in the U.K. fall to 17.97 million from 18.2 million a year earlier.
Vodafone UK also benefited in the year-ago quarter from a large enterprise contract win.
Towards the end of the quarter, doubts were raised about whether Vodafone will continue to be headquartered in the U.K. in the wake of Brexit. And Friday marks the first time the telco has reported its financial results in euros as opposed to sterling, reflecting its large exposure to Europe.
Meanwhile, in AMAP, service revenue grew 7.7% organically to €3.91 billion, driven by the addition of 2.8 million customers across the region.
"We continued to make good progress during the first quarter. In Europe, our growth remains stable despite regulatory pressure on roaming revenue, with good performance in Germany, Spain and Italy while we are focussed on improving our performance in the U.K.," said Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao, in a statement. "Our growth momentum in AMAP remains strong, with excellent performance[s] in South Africa, Turkey and Egypt and ongoing recovery in India."
On a reported basis, Vodafone’s overall group revenue fell to €13.38 billion during the three months to 30 June, from €14.01 billion a year earlier. In Europe, revenue fell 3.2% to €8.72 billion, and in AMAP revenue was down 6.2% to €4.37 billion.
Vodafone attributed the decline to foreign exchange rate movements.
Vodafone ended the quarter with 464.59 million mobile subscribers, up from 462.28 million a year ago. Its fixed broadband base increased to 13.72 million from 13.37 million.
