The world's largest cell phone provider has yet to be damaged by the staggering economy, as Vodafone said it had recorded about $14.9 billion in sales last quarter.
The mobile operator beat industry expectations with this revenue, and it was helped by exchange rates, the company said. Vodafone had good results in Italy, Germany, southern Africa, India, and the United Kingdom.
The company also saw service revenue rise 27.9% in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East areas, with record customer growth in India. The company said its 289 million customers were using their phones more, as there was a 10.3% rise in minutes used.
Verizon Wireless, of which Vodafone owns a significant portion, was also a bright spot as it saw service revenue rise 12.2% and data revenue go up 49.4%. The carrier is now the largest U.S. cellular phone service provider following the $28.1 billion acquisition of Alltel, and it continues to court smartphone users with the release of handsets like the Samsung Omnia.
Vodafone also benefitted from the release of the first touch-screen smartphone from Research In Motion, as the BlackBerry Storm sold well in the U.S. and U.K. markets. With its apt browser and multimedia capabilities, the Storm also drove data revenue.
"In the context of the current economic environment, we have continued to implement our strategy, with an emphasis on customer value, mobile data, enterprise, and fixed broadband," CEO Vittorio Colao said in a statement. "This has driven increased usage, 25% organic growth in data revenue, and over 280,000 fixed broadband additions in Europe."
Vodafone said it has made good progress in its cost-cutting measures, which should save the company more than $700 million by the end of the 2010 financial year. This restructuring will be widespread, and Vodafone said it would lead to an unnamed number of job cuts.
source: informationweek
