LONDON (Reuters) – Vodafone reported a slowdown in its group service revenue growth to 1.8% in the third quarter from 2.5% in the second, driven by declines in Germany, Italy and Spain.
Interim chief executive Margherita Della Valle, who stepped up after Nick Read resigned in December, kept full-year guidance unchanged, but said the recent decline in revenue in Europe showed Vodafone could do better.
“We’ve already taken action, including simplifying our structure to give local markets full autonomy and accountability to make the best commercial decisions for their customers,” she said on Wednesday.
The mobile and broadband operator reported a worsening performance in Germany, it biggest market, with a fall of 1.8% in service revenue, reflecting customer losses after it was badly prepared for past changes in legislation.
It said its operational problems in the country were largely resolved.
Intense competition in Italy and Spain also continued to hurt, reflected in falls of 3.3% and 8.7% respectively.
Britain, however, continued to perform strongly, with a rise of 5.3% driven by good customer growth and price increases.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Kate Holton)
