Acquisitions help push Vodafone 3Q revenue up 16%
Acquisitions help push Vodafone 3Q revenue up 16%
London: Vodafone Group PLC said Thursday revenue rose 16% in the third quarter, boosted by acquisitions in India and Turkey.
Revenue for the three months ended December 31 was 9.16 billion pounds, compared with 7.9 billion in the third quarter of 2006, the company said in a trading update.
Acquisitions and disposals accounted for 6.6% of revenue growth and exchange rate movements contributed 4.8 percentage points, the company said.
Revenue growth was led by a 52% gain on data transmission, up 42% on an organic basis, to 558 million pounds.
Voice revenue remained the biggest sector, up 14% to 6.3 billion pounds. On an organic basis, however, voice revenue was up 0.7%, reflecting impact of price cuts in Europe.
Vodafone shares fell 1.5% at 174.2 pence on the London Stock Exchange.
Keith Bowman, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers, said it was a “robust" performance by Vodafone, though the market might be disappointed that there was no upgrade on earnings guidance for the full year.
“However, data growth goes from strength to strength and the company has now engineered a 150% + increase in its customer base in just the last six years. Furthermore, near term expansion is underpinned via exposure to emerging markets," Bowman said.
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