Mobile phone giant Vodafone announced a £4.5 billion share buy-back programme and doubled its dividend today as full-year earnings and revenues topped average market forecasts.
But the company said competitive pressure was increasing, and the stock fell more than 3 per cent in early trade.
Vodafone, the world's largest mobile phone company by revenue, said gross earnings rose to £13.041 billion from £12.64 billion on 2 per cent higher revenues of £34.13 billion.
Vodafone Ireland unveiled plans to create 100 jobs at a new service centre at its Irish headquarters in Leopardstown, south Dublin. The Irish subsidiary said it had added 88,000 news customers to bring its Irish customer base to around two million.
Average-revenue-per-user (ARPU) figures show the Irish mobile market is one of the most lucrative in Europe. Irish ARPU was €50.67 per month, compared to monthly ARPUs in other European countries of Germany, €24.91; UK, €36.98; Italy, €29.91; and The Netherlands, €37.67.
The company said its operations in the United States and Spain both saw revenues surge by more than 20 per cent year on year, whereas European markets such as Italy, Germany and the UK "performed well" despite rising competition.
However, chief executive Arun Sarin said he was disappointed with the performance of Vodafone's third-ranked Japanese business, Vodafone K.K., which is struggling to keep customers in one of the world's most advanced mobile phone markets.