Vodafone ends June with 52.5M LTE subscribers in 21 markets
U.K.-based Vodafone Group recorded 13.37 billion pounds ($17.55 billion) in revenue for its fiscal first quarter ended June 30, a decline of 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Group service revenue was 12.27 billion pounds for fiscal Q1, down 3.3% year-over-year.
“We continued to make good progress during the first quarter,” Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao said. “In Europe, our growth remains stable despite regulatory pressure on roaming revenue, with good performance in Germany, Spain and Italy while we are focused on improving our performance in the U.K. Our growth momentum in Africa, Middle East and Asia-Pacific remains strong, with excellent performance in South Africa, Turkey and Egypt and ongoing recovery in India.”
In Europe, the telco recorded 8.71 billion pounds in revenue during its fiscal Q1, down 3.2% year-over-year, while revenue from operations in Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific totaled 4.36 billion pounds, down 6.2%
The Telco reported that it doubled its 4G customer base year-on-year to 52.5 million across the 21 countries where it offers 4G, with 5.7 million customers added in fiscal Q1.
Vodafone Group ended June with a total customer base of 121.4 million customers across Europe. Germany was the group’s largest European market in terms of subscribers with 30.3 million mobile subscribers, followed by Italy with 24.1 million customers, the U.K. with 18.2 million subscribers and Spain with 14.3 million subscribers.
“Although take-up continues to be rapid, only 30% of our European customer base is taking a 4G service, providing us with a very substantial opportunity for future growth,” the telco said in its earnings statement.
Vodafone Group said it ended the fiscal year with 340.8 million mobile subscribers in Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific. In India, Vodafone ended the quarter with 197.9 million mobile subscribers.
The 3G/4G customer base [in India] grew to 32.3 million, up 46%, and smartphone penetration in our four biggest urban areas is now 54%,” the telco said.
Vodafone India added 3,300 new 3G sites in fiscal Q1, taking the total to 59,000 and its population coverage to 96% of target urban areas.
“We have 9,700 4G sites with coverage of 45% of our data revenue across five key circles,” the company said. “We expect 4G coverage to increase to over 60% of our data revenue by year-end, ahead of the upcoming spectrum auction.”
In South Africa, the telco’s subsidiary Vodacom counted 70.4 million mobile subscribers at the end of June.
