Operator group Vodafone’s service revenue dropped by 3.5 per cent year on year in the quarter ended 30 June 2013 as the company took a hit in Europe. Operations in Italy saw sales drop 17.6 per cent, while Spanish revenue dropped by 10.6 per cent, taking revenue from Southern Europe to £2.27bn.

Sales from Germany dropped 5.1 per cent while UK sales dropped 4.5 per cent; service revenue in Northern and Central Europe stood at £4.75bn. The operator fared better in emerging markets such as Turkey and India where it saw gains of 15.5 per cent and 13.8 per cent respectively, while sales from pan-African subsidiary Vodacom increased by 3.2 per cent.

At Verizon Wireless, the US operator Vodafone has a 45 per cent stake in service revenue remained strong, increasing 7.2 per cent.

“We have made a good start to the year in our areas of strategic focus: growth in emerging markets has accelerated…and 4G is live in ten markets,” said chief executive Vittorio Colao.

The firm also expects to close its acquisition of German cable group Kabel Deutschland in calendar Q4 and Colao said it will create an “excellent platform for our unified communications strategy in our most important market”.

“Although regulation, competitive pressures and weak economies, particularly in Southern Europe, continue to restrict revenue growth, we continue to lay strong foundations for the longer term.”

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