Revenue for the first half fell 2.3 per cent to £20.3bn although group organic service revenue rose 1 per cent to £18.4bn. That compared with an average 0.8 percent increase predicted by analysts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. EBITDA returned to growth in the first half of the year, rising 1.9% to £5.8 billion. The group claim top be achieving leadership in European 4G services.
Advertisement
The company said it maintained its total base of 2.3 million customers during the second quarter of the year as it added 11,400 subscribers as it moved a few customers from pay as you go to bill pay during the period. In the AMAP region, organic service revenue growth improved to 6.7 percent in Q2 from 6.1 percent in Q1, led by continued strong growth in data customers and traffic.
Vodafone Group Plc’s (LON:VOD) chief executive officer, Vittorio Colao, has accused BT Group Plc (LON:BT.A) of trying to “remonopolise” the UK’s telecommunications sector and again called for the telco’s infrastructure unit to be spun off into a separate company.
Vodafone also had 0.5 million net new broadband buyers at the very first half the year’s end and 2.7 million cellular deal net brings.
In recent years the company has invested heavily in developing its network – 80% of its customers can now access 4G mobile internet services. Investors have refocused on Vodafone’s performance in markets like Germany, Spain and Britain after talks between the company and cable operator Liberty Global about an exchange of assets were abandoned in September. Vodafone said it still faced significant competitive and regulatory pressure, but seven out of 13 markets in Europe posted organic service revenue growth in H1.
“In Southern Europe I am selling, with Vodafone, 100 Mbps, 200 Mbps, 300 Mbps”, Colao said.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Companies like BT and Deutsche Telekom – and not by coincidence Deutsche Telekom is now the largest shareholder of BT so we have a German BT or a Deutsche BT – like to use what they have, which is the copper network, modernise it, to reduce competition”. We want a single digital market, and we want to be part of that single digital market. Full-year organic EBITDA is now estimated at GBP 11.7-12.0 billion, compared to the earlier forecast of GBP 11.5-12.0 billion.
BT has been cleared to buy leading mobile operator EE, which will result in owners Orange from France and Deutsche Telekom holding stakes in the former British monopoly provider.
Advertisement
He also revealed that Vodafone plans to float its Indian business on the stock market sometime next year.
