Vodafone quarter revenue up, Europe weak

24th Jul 2009 07:07

Vodafone said revenue rose 9.3% in the quarter to June, helped by positive exchange rates and M&A activity, though organic service revenue fell due to weakness in Europe.The group also said it is trading in line with management's outlook issued in May 2009 for the current financial year. Revenue rose from £9,828m to £10,743m in the quarter to June. But organic service revenue declined 2.1% due to weakness across most of Europe and Central Europe."In the first quarter the service revenue trend in Europe was consistent with the previous quarter and we continued to see good growth in India and South Africa," said chief executive Vittorio Colao.Europe service revenue rose 4.4% driven by foreign exchange though organically fell 4.4%, reflecting the tough economic conditions and mobile termination rates. Apart from Italy, Germany, Spain and the UK, saw a fall in revenue on a like-for-like basis. Organic fixed line revenue rose 5.7% however; Spain up 15.4%; Italy up 18.5%.Africa and Central Europe service revenue rose 26.3%, including Vodacom but still fell 2.6% organically. Asia Pacific and Middle East service revenue increased 21.8% and also rose 14.3% on an organic basis thanks to the 23% organic growth seen in India.Vodafone also said its cost reduction programme, targeted to save £1bn in operating costs by the end of the 2011 financial year, will reach 65% of its target by the end of the current financial year.It added that first quarter EBITDA margin trends remain consistent with management's full year expectations.