Past network upgrades, product launches and overseas acquisitions have started to rekindle growth at Vodafone (VOD). The mobile titan grew organic service revenues by about 2 per cent and kept a tight grip on costs in the reported period, driving adjusted cash profits up 4 per cent to €7.9bn (£6.8bn).
Better trading in the consumer and enterprise divisions meant organic service revenues inched upward in Europe and leapt 7 per cent in Africa, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. Both organic service revenues and cash profits rose across all of Vodafone's reported territories except the UK, partly due to a botched move to a new billing system. Regulator Ofcom found the accounts of nearly 10,500 customers weren't credited when they topped up, and recently slapped the group with a £4.6m fine.