Vodafone beats City expectations

Vodafone Group’s third-quarter revenue has beat City expectations. The world’s largest mobile operator said sales increased 16% boosted by recent acquisitions in India and Turkey and the strength of the euro against the pound.

The mobile giant has told analysts to stand by to upgrade figures for the full year to March if the euro remains at its current high levels.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs said the results were reassuring, though unlikely to require material changes to its forecasts.

Arun Sarin, chief executive, said the extra burst had come equally from Europe where the UK and Spain had been particularly strong and areas such as the Middle East and Africa.

Mr Sarin added that Vodafone was sticking with the improved full-year guidance it issued with its half-time figures. However, he added that the current-year outlook, particularly for revenue, may benefit from exchange rate movements.

He continued, however, if exchange rates stay where they are, that would produce a substantial increase in revenue,. At the same time operationally, we are still right on target.

The operator added 10.8 million customers in the third-quarter, bringing its total subscriber base to 252.3 million. For the first time, the number of customers in emerging markets, including Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific, exceeded those in the more mature markets of Western Europe.

Last year Vodafone, together with The Carphone Warehouse, launched Talkmobile - a low-cost mobile service.

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