Vodafone’s UK revenues fall

July 24, 2017

Vodafone’s organic revenue fell 4.7% in the UK, in the quarter ended 30 June 2017.

This was partly due to the recession and also because consumers are taking advantage of the lower prices available with bundled service packages.

The company warned that revenues will be further impacted in the second quarter by the recent ruling by Ofcom that mobile operators must cut mobile termination rates.

From July, Vodafone will have to cut the rate it charges other operators for connecting calls to their networks by around 8%.

Vodafone did however record good growth in data revenue in the UK, mainly from mobile internet services, which are becoming increasingly popular.

For the group as a whole, revenue grew 9.3% to £10,743 million.

Group sales were in line with market expectations for the quarter, with good sales in India and Africa compensating for weakness in Europe.

Vodafone gained 8 million customers during the quarter, increasing its proportionate customer base to 315 million.

In a separate piece of news Vodafone has been criticised for charging customers up to 20p a minute for its swine flu hotline, which has been set up to help diagnose symptoms for NHS patients in England.

The 0800 number, which is part of the National Pandemic Flu Service, is free from a landline, but charges are made for calls from mobiles.

O2, Orange and T-Mobile have dropped the charges, but Vodafone’s customers are being charged according to its normal price plans.