KEY POINTS:
Vodafone said today it added 89,000 net new customers in the December quarter, eight times the number in the September quarter.
Customer numbers have grown 4.2 per cent to 2.2 million since the September quarter and are up 4.4 per cent on a year ago.
It said
it could not supply market share figures until Telecom reports its result tomorrow. Last quarter it claimed 54.4 per cent.
Voice minute use in the quarter rose 9 per cent to 672 million from a year earlier.
Average revenue per customer per month was down to $50.70 from $51.20 a year earlier, but up from $46.60 in the September quarter.
For those on accounts, the average monthly bill fell to $128.9 from $137.20 a year ago while pre-paid customers' bills fell to $23.70 from $25.90.
Vodafone chief financial officer James Marsh attributed the sharp rise in sign-ups to its "best mate" campaign where the customer pays $6 per month for unlimited calls to another nominated Vodafone customer.
Mr Marsh said prices had come down "dramatically" so that while people were using their phones more, they were paying less.
Telecommunication regulators are threatening to impose prices on Vodafone and Telecom unless they bring prices down. New Zealand prices are among the highest in the developed world.
The British-based global giant does not release financials for its New Zealand division.
Vodafone Group Plc said it had crossed the 200 million mobile user mark for customers worldwide.
It beat forecasts for quarterly customer sign-ups and kept its annual forecasts for revenue growth and profit margins.
Europe's biggest mobile phone group said mobile revenue rose 6.1 per cent during its key Christmas quarter, with growth in emerging markets such as Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa outpacing core western Europe markets.
Organic growth in mobile revenue was 0.9 per cent in Europe and 14.4 per cent across its Eastern Europe, Middle East, Asia-Pacific and African (EMAPA) businesses.
Across the group, voice revenue rose by 2.6 per cent on an organic basis, while data revenue grew by 34.2 per cent. In its core European business, voice revenue fell 0.5 per cent while data revenue rose 32.2 per cent.
The world's biggest mobile operator outside of China beat forecasts for new customer sign-ups, with 8.7 million customers taking up its services in the fiscal third quarter to December 31, versus analysts' expectations of 7.5 million.
"It took us 15 years to get our first 100 million customers," chief executive Arun Sarin Sarin told reporters. "It took us five years to get the next 100 million. There is good momentum in the business."
Subscriber growth in emerging markets is critical for Vodafone and its European rivals, which have reached full penetration of home markets and are facing declining prices due to competition and regulation.
Vodafone said mobile revenue rose 6.1 per cent in the key Christmas quarter.
Almost all revenue growth came from emerging markets, where sales, excluding acquisitions, increased by 14.4 per cent.
In Europe, voice revenues fell 0.5 per cent despite 3.2 million new subscribers and a 17 per cent increase in voice telephony minutes. Still, this decline was more than offset by strong growth in data such as email, video and messaging. Overall service revenues increased by 2.1 per cent in Europe, which was higher than the 1 per cent the previous quarter.
Vodafone shares rose 1.9 per cent at 149.75 pence ($4.33). The shares have gained about 28 per cent in the past five months as they recover from a turbulent 2006, during which Sarin survived a rebellion from shareholders upset at his efforts to tackle slowing growth in core European markets.
Vodafone also reiterated its full-year forecasts that mobile revenue growth would be within a range of 5 to 6.5 per cent.
- NZPA
