 "Vodafone India service revenue up 11.7% in first half of FY15")
The company had reported a total service revenue of Rs 18,480.9 crore in the same period last financial year. At the end of July-September quarter, data accounts for 13.5 per cent to its total service revenue in India. It does not disclose profit figures in India.
“We have delivered a healthy double-digit revenue growth driven by strong customer additions and robust growth in data. With reducing inflationary pressure and improving sentiment after the new government came, we expect the telecoms sector to grow above the GDP rate,” said Vodafone India managing director and chief executive officer Marten Pieters.
The growth story in India continues at a time when Vodafone’s profits globally dived 70 per cent to £5.422 billion in the six-month period ending September 30, compared with the corresponding period previous year, according to the company’s statement.
However, the Indian entity has lost its third position in terms of revenue contribution to Vodafone Group Plc to Italian operations of the British telco. In terms of revenue contribution, India now stands at number four. The drop was due to the increase in stake in Vodafone Italy, which, in turn, has increased its revenue position, said Thomas Reisten, chief financial officer, Vodafone India. Also, Vodafone India’s services revenue does not include revenue from Indus Towers in which Vodafone has a stake.
During the first six months of the current financial year, Vodafone India’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) grew by 11.9 per cent while the Ebitda margin stood at the same level at 29.5 per cent like the previous year.
The company’s capital expenditure during the first half also jumped by 116.3 per cent to Rs 3,509 crore from Rs 1,622 crore in the corresponding quarter in the previous financial year. However, the amount does not include the money that Vodafone has spent to buy spectrum.
During the period, about 60 per cent of the company’s capex was spent to build better data network, and most of the remaining was invested in distribution and customer experience, Reisten said. During the first six months, its 3G customer base grew 204 per cent to 13.6 million subscribers that contributes about 50 per cent of the companies total data revenue. Vodafone now has 33.2 million customers using more than 1MB data.
While the Indian entity has grown even in the seasonally weak quarter, Vodafone may have to speed up growth in the Indian market to meet the expectations of the Vodafone Group CEO Vittorio Colao, who said last year that India had the potential to be one of the top two contributors.
Average realisation per minute from voice rose by 5.6 per cent to 49.9 paisa and average revenue per user grew marginally to Rs 202 from Rs 200 in the previous quarter.
Vodafone reported a subscriber base of 174 million customers for the six months ending 30 September 2014, an increase of 11.8 per cent over the same period last year.