Vodafone Group, the world's biggest mobile company by sales, reported a 16% jump in quarterly revenues, boosted by acquisitions in the fast-growing Indian and Turkish markets and a strong euro, an Associated Press report said.
The company shrugged off fears about the impact of the recent global economic downturn, posting revenue for the three months ended December 31 of 9.16 billion pounds ($18.2 billion), compared with 7.9 billion pounds in the same period a year earlier, the Associated Press report added.
Vodafone's organic service revenue growth, which excludes last year's $10.7 billion acquisition of a majority stake in India's Hutchison Essar, was also solid, up 4.4%, compared with analysts' expectations of around 3.5% to 4%, the report said.
Even in competitive Western European markets, Vodafone reported a 2% increase in revenue, stimulating demand with price cuts, the report added.
The Associated Press report said CEO Arun Sarin reiterated Vodafone's current outlook for the year, adding that revenue may benefit from exchange rate movements in Europe.
The company said in November that it expected full-year group revenue to be in the range of 34.5 billion pounds ($68.7 billion) to 35.1 billion pounds ($69.9 billion), according to the report.
Analysts noted that with substantial currency exchange rate shifts, especially the strengthening euro against the British pound, Vodafone could see a marked increase in full year revenue and may top revenue guidance for the financial year.
The company derives 60% of sales from countries where the euro is the main currency, the report said.
However, they said the focus still remained on Vodafone's ability to push into new markets, the report added.