Sarin, 53, who survived shareholders' dissent two years ago, told in an interview to The Sunday Times that walking away then "wouldn't be consistent with being a leader."
But by deciding to leave after turning around the company to profit, the newspaper said: "Sarin has succeeded in putting distance between him and a nasty spell of fighting with board members and shareholders that threatened his position..."
Vodafone Group's adjusted operating profit increased 5.7 per cent to 10.1 billion pounds, while its underlying earnings in 2007-08 grew 10.2 per cent to 13.2 billion pounds.
The company's customer base more than doubled from 120 million to over 260 million globally under Sarin's leadership, while returns to shareholders also grew with dividends rising more than 400 per cent.
He announced his decision to leave Vodafone last Tuesday after the company's results were declared.
The profits vindicated Sarin's position as CEO and served to silence Vodafone's top institutional investors who voted against his re-election to the board two years ago.
The Times quoted Sarin as saying: "There wasn't a 'lightbulb moment', just a series of conversations with Sir John Bond, Vodafone's chairman."
When Bond was informed of Sarin's thinking in late January, he even tried to talk him out of it, the paper said.
