Vodafone to reveal surge from iPhone
VODAFONE is expected to announce strong results tomorrow off the back of strong smartphone sales.
The soaring popularity of products including Apple’s iPhone will lead to a spike in revenue of around seven per cent, according to analysts. This would bring the full-year revenue for the telecoms giant to around £44bn.
Its profit before tax will rise by around 150 per cent due to £5.9bn in impairment charges it was forced to accept the year before.
However, its operating profit is expected to be squeezed by around 2.3 per cent after fierce competition in its European markets.
Earlier in 2010 chief executive Vittorio Colao raised Vodafone’s full-year operating profit target to £11.8bn from £11.4bn after demand for the iPhone surged.
Vodafone missed out on the lucrative two-year contract to be the sole provider of the iPhone in the wake of its release. It started selling the record breaking product earlier this year and has racked up monster sales.
Vodafone will hope Apple’s new iPad will further boost sales this year. The iPad smashed sales estimates when it sold more than 1m units in less than a month on the shelves. High-end models come with a data-hungry mobile internet connection for which Vodafone offers a dedicated tariff package.
Revenue per customer is higher from smart technology as users are prepared to pay a premium for data usage. Vodafone will roll out a number of new smartphones over the coming months, including Samsung’s Galaxy.
Colao is expected to reassure investors tomorrow that Vodafone’s Turkish arm, which he described as a “disaster” in 2009, is making good progress.