Vodafone customers up 54%
BY FT.com staff
Published: May 30 2000 06:53GMT | Last Updated: May 30 2000 07:39GMT
Vodafone AirTouch, the world's largest mobile phone operator, on Tuesday announced that its customer numbers reached over 39.1m in the year ended 31 March 2000, a 54 per cent increase from the year before.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation and before exceptional items was œ3.95bn an increase of 30 per cent on 1999. Group operating profits before goodwill and exceptional items increased by 32 per cent to œ2.71bn.
Vodafone AirTouch said the increases reflected the completion of the merger with AirTouch Communications in June 1999 and well as strong organic growth.
The annual results did not include the acquisition of Mannesmann, the German mobile phone operator, which was completed in April 2000.
Vodafone AirTouch's Verizon Wireless joint venture, created in April 2000, was also excluded from the results. The venture is expected to serve 23m customers in the US.
Chris Gent, chief executive of Vodafone AirTouch, estimated that including the Verizon agreement and the acquisition of Mannesmann, the company had more than quadrupled its size in the past year and said: "By any standard, the year ended March 2000 has seen exceptional progress for Vodafone Airtouch."
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