Vodafone India records 9% rise in revenue at British Pound 1.03 billion for June quarter

KOLKATA: The Indian arm of UK's Vodafone Group, the world's largest private mobile phone company, on Friday reported a near 9% growth in revenue at £1.03 billion for the first quarter ended June 2011, compared to £0.95 billion in the corresponding period last year.

Vodafone Essar's higher revenue is largely propelled by a 16.8% jump in service revenues during the three months ended June. This was largely driven by a near 30% increase in the company's customer base, a 70.4% jump in data revenue and stabler mobile voice prices, the company said.

Faster-growing market such as India and Turkey had a significant contribution towards boosting Vodafone Group's revenue, which climbed by 3.5% to £11.65 billion for the three months-ended June. The Vodafone Group added that its presence in markets such as India would enable the company to stick by its outlook of achieving a full-year adjusted operating profit in the range of £11 billion to £11.8 billion, and free cash flow of £6 billion to £6.5 billion.

Vodafone does not give a quarterly profit figure for its Indian operations, which is the country's second-largest telco by revenues after Bharti Airtel. This is the third consecutive quarter that Vodafone's Indian operations have been cash positive.

"Businesses in our major markets continued to grow strongly with India continuing to see a more stable pricing environment," the Vodafone Group said in a statement on Friday.

As on June 30, Vodafone Essar's total data customers stood at 26 million, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 189%. The growth was driven by a surge in data enabled handsets and the continued impact of successful marketing campaigns run in conjunction with the sponsorship of key sporting events.

"Whilst competition in the market remains high, the effective rate per minute is stabilising as a result of a focus on promotional offers rather than further ongoing price reductions," the statement added.

Following the commercial rollout of 3G in February, third generation services are today available to Vodafone customers in 147 towns and cities across 12 circles. "The good momentum continues in India. Bilateral 3G roaming agreements are also in place," said Vodafone's interim management statement.

India also accounted for 86% of the 8.1 million customers Vodafone added globally during the three months ended June.

Vodafone Essar's higher Q1 revenue builds on its decent financial performance in FY11, when the Indian arm of Vodafone Group for the first time recorded an annual operating profit at £15 million for the 12 months ended March 11.