Vodafone loss deepens on large Indian write-down

Vodafone Group PLC said Tuesday that it remained on track to meet its full-year goals despite reporting a sharply wider net loss, as increased competition in its Indian business prompted it to book a EUR5 billion ($5.38 billion) write-down.

Vodafone, the world’s second-largest mobile carrier by subscribers, said it made a net loss of EUR5 billion in the six months ended Sept. 30, compared with a loss of EUR2.3 billion in the same period a year earlier.

It said revenue over the period fell 3.9% from the same period a year earlier to EUR27.1 billion and that earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were down 1.7% at EUR7.9 billion. It said both declines were primarily because of foreign-exchange movements.

Vodafone said its organic service revenue in the six-month period grew 2.3% to EUR24.8 billion compared with a year earlier, driven by growth in Germany and Italy.

In its outlook, Vodafone said it was performing better in Europe than it had expected, but that competition in India has increased. It narrowed its range for its full-year Ebitda outlook from EUR15.7 billion to EUR16.2 billion to EUR15.7 billion to EUR16.1 billion.

Source: Market Watch