The country’s second largest mobile phone operator, the subsidiary of the world’s largest telco by revenue, the British Vodafone Group, has said its revenue grew by over 13 percent to Rs 9,933.42 crore in the June quarter. "In India service revenue was up over 13 percent driven by a more stable pricing environment, an improved process of customer verification and continued strong data revenue growth," Vodafone, which is which is facing tax dispute of Rs 11,217 crore, said in a statement.
The India business pushed Vodafone's revenue growth in Asia, West Asia and Asia Pacific region. "Growth was driven by a strong increase in India and robust performances in Vodacom, Egypt, Ghana and Qatar, partially offset by service revenue declines in Australia and New Zealand." In India, the company saw increase in mobile Internet usage by 29 percent compared to its previous quarter due to increased number of data (internet) customers and increased usage per customer, particularly amongst 3G customers. "In the June quarter, active data customers totalled 41.2 million, including approximately 3.7 million 3G subscribers," Vodafone said.
The group' service revenue including joint ventures declined 2.5 percent to Rs 92,281.51 crore during the reported quarter from Rs 90,187.74 crore. The company saw increase of 12.6 percent in India's average revenue per user (Arpu) at Rs 196 in the reported quarter from Rs 174 during the same period last year. Its Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific revenues grew 2.5 per cent to Rs 27,503 crore from Rs 26,828.6 crore.
