Vodafone pulls guidance over virus uncertainty

VODAFONE Ireland reported revenue of €838m in the 12 months to March 31.

The company’s turnover fell by just under 1pc when compared to the prior year, due to increased competition. Vodafone’s total fixed broadband customer base increased by 7pc year-on-year to 284,000, according to a statement from the group.

Meanwhile, its overall mobile customer base increased by 2.3pc, with the addition of 46,000 customers.

“It was a strong year of solid, stable growth for Vodafone Ireland, which saw us increase our customer-base across mobile and fixed broadband,” said CEO Anne O’Leary.

Overall, Vodafone Group’s performance met expectations with a 2.6pc rise in full-year core earnings to €14.9bn, but it did not give a current year outlook due to the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus.

“We are experiencing a direct impact on our roaming revenues from lower international travel and we also expect economic pressures to impact our customer revenues over time,” it said yesterday.

“However, we are also seeing significant increases in data volumes and further improvements in loyalty, as our customers place greater value on the quality, speed and reliability of our networks.”

The company said given the uncertainties of the pandemic it was not able to provide adjusted core earnings guidance for the current year.

But it said based on assessment of the global economy, it could be flat to slightly down.