Vodafone sales hit as European arm falters

VODAFONE posted a slump in sales as its European business continues to falter.

Total revenues at the telecoms group hit £11.4bn in the three months to December, down 2.3pc on the same period the previous year.

Revenues in Germany – its largest market – crept up just 0.3pc to £3.3bn as price hikes continue to put off customers.

They fell 1.3pc in Italy, where the FTSE 100 group continues to explore options to shrink its sprawling European operations, and they lost 1.1pc in Spain.

The UK was a bright spot for the group, with revenues climbing 5.2pc to £1.7bn.

Russ Mould, analyst at AJ Bell, said: ‘In recent years Vodafone has been a business with all the alacrity of a beached whale and there’s nothing in its third quarter statement to get investors partic

‘All the alacrity of a beached whale’

ularly excited.’ Last week Vodafone snubbed the latest attempt by French telecoms operator Iliad to merge their Italian businesses.

Vodafone chief Margherita Della Valle said yesterday the company was in ‘active discussions’ in Italy – but did not elaborate on what this meant for an Iliad bid.

She is also pushing through a tieup with Three UK.

Vodafone agreed to merge with Three in a deal that will create the UK’s largest mobile network with more than 27m customers.

But the merger has come under scrutiny because of concerns that Three’s Hong Kong-based parent company CK Hutchison could be granted access to sensitive national infrastructure. Vodafone said it was cooperating with regulators over the deal, as well as a national security review into the tie-up.