Having received a windfall from its disposal of Verizon Wireless in February, shareholders in Vodafone (VOD) may be looking for their next payout. But with talk of a takeover dying down - prime candidate AT&T is in talks to buy satellite-TV provider DirecTV - the best news in its upcoming results may be an improving European sales performance.
JPMorgan Cazenove reckons Vodafone's organic service revenue fell 3.9 per cent in the final quarter to 31 March - an improvement on a 4.9 per cent fall in the third quarter - thanks to improving mobile termination rates (MTR). These are the charges other carriers pay Vodafone if they deliver a call using its network. For the year, the broker forecasts pre-tax profits just short of £7bn, giving EPS of 9.1p.
Investors will also be keen to see whether Vodafone's troubled European markets have improved. The group's organic service revenues fell 14 and 17 per cent in Spain and Italy, respectively, in the third quarter.
