LONDON—Vodafone Group plc said it added 1.3 million proportionate net subscribers during the first quarter, ending the quarter with 101.1 million worldwide proportionate customers.
The company noted the lackluster net additions were due to seasonal factors and the disconnection in some European markets of non-revenue earning handsets. Vodafone did report the number of contract customers improved in Germany from 40 percent to 43 percent and in the United Kingdom from 35 percent to 38 percent during the quarter following revised commercial policies.
Vodafone also reported data revenue increased 4 percent during March to more than 13 percent of service revenues for its controlled operations and rose 3 percent for the year to more than 11 percent of service revenues.
“The improvement in mix towards higher quality customers and the continued adoption of data services provide a solid base for an expected improvement in ARPU (average revenue per user) in most of our major European markets in the year ahead,” said Sir Christopher Gent, chief executive at Vodafone.
