Vodafone smartphone usage up

CUSTOMER NUMBERS at Vodafone Ireland’s mobile business rose 3.2 per cent year on year and smartphone use soared in the first quarter of the year.

The mobile network said about 54 per cent of contract devices sold since December 2010 were smartphones. However, text messages remained the preferred method of communication, with Vodafone customers sending 221 messages per customer, compared with 108 across Europe. This was 10.8 per cent higher year on year.

Changing consumer spending patterns saw service revenue fall 6.2 per cent to €245 million at the end of the quarter, while average blended monthly revenue per user was down 10.5 per cent to €32.30.

Meanwhile, minutes of use per customer rose by 1.8 per cent to 262 minutes. This is also above the European average, which currently stands at about 168 minutes, Vodafone said.

Mobile broadband customers rose 30 per cent year on year, gaining 40,000 net customers.

The company had a total of 2.4 million customers as of the end of March, including its fixed-line and DSL business.

On a group basis, profit at the Vodafone Group fell 0.4 per cent as sales in some southern European markets declined.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation fell to £14.7 billion. Analysts had predicted Ebitda of £14.6 billion, according to a Bloomberg survey. Sales rose 3.2 per cent to £45.9 billion. – (Additional reporting: Bloomberg)