Vodafone is confident it will turn an operating profit of £11.4-£11.8 billion ($18.0-$18.7b) in fiscal 2010, after growing revenues in the fourth quarter.
Group revenue in FYQ310 was up 10.3% year-on-year to £11.5 billion, and service revenues by 11% to £10.7 billion, as strong sales of smartphones led to a recovery in the carrier’s European markets.
A decline in European voice revenues was offset by increases in messaging, data, and fixed line revenues, which resulted in a 2.8% year-on-year rise to £7.2 billion.
The carrier says mobile internet revenues grew 27% year-on-year, as more data bundles were sold and demand for smartphones increased. It added 1.4 million new subs to take its total to 114 million across Europe at December 31, some 30 million of which are active data users.
The carrier reported a rise in Africa and Central Europe service revenues of 56.7% to £2.1 billion during the quarter, though it notes the figure actually fell 0.5% on an organic basis.
Further growth in service revenues was recorded in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East region, with the reported £1.6 billion up 9.7% year-on-year. Much of that growth was attributed to India, where sales rose 13.8% year-on-year.
Group data revenue exceeded £1 billion for the first time, an increase of 17.7% on FYQ309.
Chief executive Vittorio Colao said the results show the carrier is “on track to deliver on our strategic priorities in the current financial year.”