Vodafone posts positive first half results

Mobile phone operator Vodafone has released its six month fiscal results, showing a continued improvement in the acquisition and retention of its customer base, together with improved revenue from both 2G and 3G operations.

Group revenue was posted at GBP 18.3 billion, with a 5.8 per cent increase in mobile telecommunication revenue, growing to GBP 17.7 billion. Pre-tax profit for the six months ending 30th September was posted at GBP 4.1 billion.

The company's customer base shows steady and continued growth over the period, with 10 million new additions representing a 12.9 per cent growth on the same period last year.

Investing and promoting new technologies continues to be a focus for the firm, and Vodafone now has a total of 4.9 million 3G devices, 4.5 million of which are consumer devices.

Arun Sarin, Vodafone's CEO commented: "I am pleased to announce another strong set of results. We have grown our customer base to 171 million, and made good progress on 3G and other global products and services."

"We continue to outperform our competitors in most of our markets as we leverage our global scale and remain focused on delivering our strategy for growth," he added.

Vodafone continues to push for an increase in its customer base, specifically in the 3G arena, where the assistance of international partners and a reduction in handset prices by almost 30 per cent over the past twelve months is beginning to show positive returns.

The European operations continue to produce positive revenue streams, and, according to Sarin, the company's position in Japan is beginning to turn around following increased investment in its customers and handset technology.

Following the half-year results, Vodafone has reiterated its earlier full year fiscal forecasts, anticipating a revenue growth of between 6 and 9 per cent.