Vodafone has published an interim management statement for the most-recent quarter of its financial year, which ended on 30th June 2012. It says group revenue was £10.77 billion for the quarter. That’s a 7.7% drop year-on-year, although when calculated ‘organically’ - compensating for the effect of mergers, acquisitions and exchange rates - this is equivalent to a 1% increase.
In Vodafone’s European businesses, revenue decreased by 8.2% year-on-year with the majority of that drop due to foreign exchange rates. Germany saw revenue increase by 4.2% when measured organically, although UK revenue fell by 0.8% due to increased competition and a weaker economy. Italy experienced a 7.7% organic drop, with revenue in Spain falling by 10%. Smartphone penetration across Vodafone’s markets in Europe is now 28.7%.
Vodafone UK ended the quarter with 19,067,000 customers; a drop of around 100,000 from the previous quarter. 55% of UK customers have ‘pay monthly’ contracts while 45% are on prepay deals.
Vittorio Colao, Vodafone’s Chief Executive, said “Despite the difficult market conditions, particularly in southern Europe, we continue to make progress in the key areas of data, enterprise and emerging markets, while maintaining tight control of our cost base. We remain focused on driving through significant improvements to our customers’ experience through our ongoing investment in our networks, stores and IT platforms.”
[Quarterly figures presentation (pdf)]