Ovum on Vodafone's results -- Europe poses challenge

INDIA: Following the announcement of Vodafone's results, independent telecoms analyst Ovum released a statement.

Emeka Obiodu, senior analyst at Ovum, said: “Vodafone’s result is great news for the company as it is the first time it has returned to positive revenue growth since the recession struck in 2008.

“India, Vodacom and, remarkably, Turkey did well, but the challenge for Vodafone is in Europe.

“As Ovum had said in the past, Vodafone’s key strategic agenda should be to nurture their European business back to growth before growth in their Indian operation inevitably stalls.

“The result shows they have largely achieved that. Both Germany and the UK have returned to organic growth. Performance in Spain is understandable given the depth of the economic problems in the country.

“It is worth noting that the growth in Europe has been driven by increased uptake of smartphone and mobile connectivity packages. This is certainly good news. But there is no indication that Vodafone has had success with its mobile content solutions such as Vodafone 360.”