British mobile phone group Vodafone has increased its Irish customer base by 25,000 in the last quarter, it emerged today.
The company reported a better-than-expected rise in first-quarter subscribers alongside average revenue increases in key European countries.
The figures also reveal that Vodafone's Irish customers spend almost €50 per month on mobile calls, almost one third more than is spent by its UK users.
The world's largest international mobile phone operator added 2.5 million subscribers, giving it 122.7 million users worldwide. Analysts had expected around 2.2 million new users in the quarter.
Average revenue per user (ARPU) for the 12 months to the end of June rose to £297 sterling in Britain from £292 at end-March.
Italian ARPU climbed to €351 from €347, although German ARPU was flat at €313 in a quarter of strong customer growth for Vodafone in Europe's largest mobile market.
Data as a percentage of revenue rose to 15 per cent for the group at the end of June, up from 14.6 per cent. Vodafone also said it now had 1.75 million subscribers to its new picture-messaging and mobile-Internet service.