Vodafone topped market forecasts with robust third-quarter revenues today on the back of strong emerging markets and mobile data growth.
British-based Vodafone said revenues rose to £9.2 billion (€12.37 billion), with organic growth of 4.4 per cent, compared to expectations of 3.5 to 4.0 per cent growth.
The company said it has added 48,000 new customers in Ireland for the last three months of 2007 and that its Irish subscriber base stands at 2.265 million.
The company said Irish customers spent 1,543,000 minutes talking in the last quarter, up from the 1,517,000 in the third quarter.
Vodafone said the average monthly revenue per Irish-based customer fell to €43.9 from €45.6 in the final quarter of 2006.
In Vodafone's fast-growing EMAPA regions - eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and affiliates - organic revenue growth surged to 13.7 per cent.
Mobile data revenue that was 41.5 per cent higher supported more pedestrian growth of 2,per cent in mature European markets.
Vodafone, whose global customer base now stands at around 252.3 million, said acquisitions in India and Turkey helped propel group revenue growth to 15.8 per cent and EMAPA service revenue growth to just over 48 per cent.