Vodafone: European Smartphone Penetration now 24.4%

The Vodafone Group reported service revenue growth of just +0.9% for the quarter ending 31-December-2012 driven by its share in Verizon Wireless (+6.8% growth), India (+20.0%() and Turkey (+23.5%); but held down by deteriorating economic conditions in southern Europe and flattish performance in Germany and the UK.


“We are continuing to make progress in the key strategic areas of data, enterprise and emerging markets. Despite the further deterioration of the southern European economic environment during the quarter, our broad geographic mix is delivering a resilient overall performance. Our improved value perception, strong cash generation and healthy balance sheet give us confidence that we can continue to execute well.�?


Some notes from the quarterly presentation:


Data revenue grew by 21.8% over last year. The annual run rate is £6.3 billion.


European smartphone penetration now is now 24.4%.


Messaging revenues grew by 4.3%


Fixed revenues grew by 3.9%


In Germany, Vodafone ended the quarter with 88,000 LTE customers and 1,700 sites.


In Italy, mobile service revenue declined by 6.1% due to worsening economic conditions.


In the UK, service revenue grew by 1.1% and data revenues were up by 13%.
http://www.vodafone.com