Eurobites: Vodafone Slows Revenue Decline in Europe

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: EE becomes Europe's largest 4G operator; TeliaSonera gets clearance on Tele2 Norway acquisition; MTS downgraded.

Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe

February 5, 2015

2 Min Read
Eurobites: Vodafone Slows Revenue Decline in Europe

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: EE becomes Europe's largest 4G operator; TeliaSonera gets clearance on Tele2 Norway acquisition; MTS downgraded.

  • Vodafone Group plc (NYSE: VOD) managed to arrest the decline of its European service revenues in its fiscal third quarter, with organic service revenues down 2.7% year-on-year to ₤6.62 billion (US$10.1 billion) compared with a drop of 5% in the second quarter. Mainland Europe is still a problem area for the operator, with revenues still on the slide in Germany, Italy and Spain, though in the UK revenue was up 0.9%. It's a brighter picture in Vodafone's AMAP (Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific) region, where organic services revenues were up 5.9%. In a statement, CEO Vittorio Colao claimed that Vodafone's Project Spring program was "well advanced," with 65% 4G coverage in Europe and a 0.64% reduction in dropped call rates. (See Eurobites: Vodafone Plans Triple-Play in UK and Vodafone Ups 'Project Spring' Capex to $11B+.)

    • UK mobile joint venture EE , which is in the throes of being bought by BT for £12.5 billion ($19.1 billion), has underlined its attractiveness as an acquisition target in its full-year results, with EBITDA inching up 1% year-on-year to £1.58 billion ($2.41 billion) and its 4G base reaching 7.7 million customers, making it, it says, Europe's largest 4G operator. Tablet tariffs are proving increasingly popular, recording a 68% growth in uptake year-on-year. (See BT Locks Down £12.5B EE Takeover Deal.)

    • Telia Company has received approval of its proposed acquisition of rival Tele2 AB (Nasdaq: TLTO)'s Norwegian operations from the Norwegian Competition Authority. But before the approval was granted, the enterprise value of the deal had to be reduced from 5.1 billion Swedish kronor ($615 million) to SEK4.5 billion ($543 million). (See Tele2 gets green light to sell Norwegian unit to TeliaSonera.)

    • Russian operator Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (MTS) (NYSE: MBT), which is facing challenging trading conditions in a domestic market hit by economic sanctions, has had its credit rating downgraded by Standard & Poor's, from "BBB-" to "BB+" following the downgrade of Russia's sovereign rating along the same lines. (See MTS Braced for Ruble Trouble.)

      — Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

Read more about:

Europe

About the Author

Paul Rainford

Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

Paul is based on the Isle of Wight, a rocky outcrop off the English coast that is home only to a colony of technology journalists and several thousand puffins.

He has worked as a writer and copy editor since the age of William Caxton, covering the design industry, D-list celebs, tourism and much, much more.

During the noughties Paul took time out from his page proofs and marker pens to run a small hotel with his other half in the wilds of Exmoor. There he developed a range of skills including carrying cooked breakfasts, lying to unwanted guests and stopping leaks with old towels.

Now back, slightly befuddled, in the world of online journalism, Paul is thoroughly engaged with the modern world, regularly firing up his VHS video recorder and accidentally sending text messages to strangers using a chipped Nokia feature phone.

Subscribe and receive the latest news from the industry.
Join 62,000+ members. Yes it's completely free.

You May Also Like