Vodafone raised its full-year sales and profits forecasts yesterday after it posted record-beating half-year figures following strong growth in emerging mar-kets.
Shares in the mobile phone giant leapt 7.4 per cent to top the blue-chip climbers' board as Vodafone revealed it was increasing its revenue forecasts by about £1bn to between £34.5bn and £35.1bn. Expectations for adjusted operating profit were increased to within the range of £9.5bn to £9.9bn, ahead of the £9.3bn to £9.8bn previously forecast.
Its chief executive Arun Sarin said the group would continue to face tough competition in the UK and Europe, as pricing was still under pressure amid a saturated mobile phone market. But tough conditions in Europe were offset by the performance of emerging markets, which saw sales growth of 40 per cent to £4.3bn. The steepest growth was in Egypt, where revenues grew by 33 per cent.
However, Vodafone said yesterday that the hype around the phone was good for the industry and had brought more consumers into its stores. Sales were 10 per cent up in Vodafone's UK stores after the iPhone went on sale as it has reignited interest in phones in general, the company said.
Source: http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article3157814.ece
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