Vodafone sees revenues at 'lower end'

Mobile phone group Vodafone posted first-quarter revenue in line with forecasts on today but said full-year revenue was expected to be around the bottom of its previously stated range due to economic weakness.

Vodafone, the world's largest mobile phone company by revenues, said it added 8.5 million subscribers in the three months to the end of June, taking the company's proportionate customer base to around £269 million.

In Ireland, the average monthly revenue per user had dropped to €41.70 by the end of June, down from €45.40 over the same period in 2007.

Despite this, the Irish market remains one of the most profitable for Vodafone with average revenues here far in excess of those in the UK of €22, in Germany of €17 and €21.30 in Italy.

At the end of June Vodafone said it had 2,247,000 customers in Ireland, down 17,000 on the total for the end of April. Irish Vodafone customers were spending an average of 1,719 minutes per month on their mobiles, one of the lowest in Europe.

Group revenues climbed 19.1 per cent to £9.8 billion, with organic growth - which strips out acquisitions and disposals - of 1.7 per cent.

Analysts had expected first quarter revenues of £9.8 billion, according to a poll for Reuters Estimates.

But the British-based group said it now expected its full-year revenue to be around the bottom of its previously stated range of £39.8 billion to £40.7 billion due to recent economic weakness and lower than expected equipment revenue.

"Notwithstanding this more challenging operating environment, we continue to benefit from a diversity of assets and services, with strong revenue growth in (emerging countries) and another good quarter of data revenue growth offsetting weakness in Spain," chief executive Arun Sarin said.

"Whilst we expect revenue around the bottom of the outlook range, our continued focus on cost reduction enables us to reiterate our operating profit and cash flow guidance for the year."

The results will be the last for Mr Sarin, who will step down after five years on July 29th and be replaced by his deputy Vittorio Colao.

Additional reporting Reuters