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Technology Stocks : Vodafone (VOD) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MrGreenJeans who wrote (52)	4/6/1999 1:51:00 PM
From: MrGreenJeans	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 109

U.K. mobile phone shares soar Big 3 get boost from strong subscriber numbers By Gareth Vaughan, CBS MarketWatch Last Update: 1:26 PM ET Apr 6, 1999 NewsWatch LONDON (CBS.MW) -- Shares in the U.K.'s big three mobile phone companies soared Tuesday after they posted bigger gains than expected in new subscribers during the fourth quarter. "The subscriber numbers are a touch above our expectations and support the great [telecoms] story in the U.K. market," said Alexander Gunz, London-based telecoms analyst at ABN Amro. The U.K. telecom sector as a whole in absolute performance this year, has outperformed the overall market by 17 percent. The U.K.'s biggest player, Vodafone Group (VOD) said it had picked up more than four times as many new customers in the U.K. during the fourth quarter than it did last year. Vodafone's customer base rose above 5,570,000, a jump of over 700,000 during the quarter, compared to the 172,000 customers it picked up in the first 3 months of 1998. Worldwide, Vodafone said its customer base had almost doubled during the 1998/99 financial year. Vodafone stocks rose 2.1 percent, or 25 pence to 1207. Orange PLC (ORNGY) said it added 370,000 new customers during the first quarter, which was more than 3 times the growth recorded in the same period last year. Orange now has a customer base of 2.53 million. Orange shares soared 3.4 percent, or 31 pence to 925. Meanwhile, Cellnet Ltd, which is jointly owned by British Telecom (BTY) and Securicor PLC, said it picked up 479,000 new subscribers, above expectations of 380,000. British Telecom shares, which comprise 5.91 percent of the FTSE 100, leapt 5.6 percent, or 58 pence to 1086. Securicor rose 5 pence to 573. "The overall market added close to 1.9 million [customers] in the first quarter, which is 3-4 times greater growth than last year," said Andrew Beale, telecoms analyst at Lehman Brothers in London. Shares of the companies' American Depositary Shares also rose Tuesday. Vodafone leads the way Analysts said the performance of Vodafone, which consolidated its 37-38 percent share of the market, was the most impressive. This was attributed partly to the company's strong distribution. "We intend to extend the reach, range and penetration of mobile services to as many customers as we possibly can, in as many geographic territories that can sustain viable and profitable operating entities throughout the world," said Chris Gent, Vodafone's chief executive. In January Vodafone announced the purchase of Airtouch Communications (ATI) of the U.S. in a deal worth approximately $57.2 billion (36 billion pounds). The British mobile phone monolith is currently seeking shareholder approval for the deal, and expects to complete the acquisition during the summer. Clouds on the horizon? Despite the surging numbers of customers and soaring share prices, analysts warn that the growth must slow eventually. "High rating stocks [such as telecoms], are vulnerable in a general market correction," said Lehman's Beale. Observers say two possible clouds on the horizon are regulation which could increase the number of competitors, and possible health risks - notably cancer - relating to the use of mobiles. "If you look at the studies so far they are inconclusive because cancer studies take up to 10 years and mobile phones are relatively recent. [But] there will be studies and scare stories in the press. However, any provable links are two to three years away," said one telecoms analyst in London who spoke on condition of anonymity.