Vodafone India's operating profit up three-fold to Rs 1,853 cr

Vodafone India, the country's second largest mobile operator, said on Tuesday its adjusted operating profits rose by more than three-fold to GBP 221 million (about Rs 1,853 crore) for the year ended March 31, 2013.

The company, part of the UK-based Vodafone Group, had posted an adjusted operating profit of GBP 60 million (about Rs 503 crore) in the year-ago period, it said.

Vodafone India revenues also rose by 1.17 per cent to GBP 4.32 billion (about Rs 361.9 billion) from GBP 4.27 billion (about Rs 357.7 billion) during the same period.

Its free cash flow for year ended March 31, 2013 rose to GBP 729 million from GBP 531 million in the year-ago period.

On India results, Vodafone said: "Service revenue grew by 10.7 per cent driven by strong growth in mobile voice minutes and data revenue, partially offset by the impact of regulatory changes."

Average customer growth slowed in Q4, as Q3 regulatory changes affecting subscriber verification continued to impact gross additions.

However customer acquisition costs remained low, it added. "For the year as a whole, growth was negatively impacted by the introduction of new consumer protection regulations on the charging of access fees and the marketing of integrated tariffs and value-added services," it said.

However, in Q4 the customer base returned to growth

and usage increased. Data revenue grew by 19.8 per cent driven by increased data customers and higher smartphone penetration, Vodafone added.

Active data customers totalled 37.3 million, including about 3.3 million 3G data customers as of March 2013, it said.

"EBITDA grew by 24 per cent, with a 3.3 percentage point increase in EBITDA margin, driven by the higher revenue, operating cost efficiencies and the impact of lower customer acquisition costs, partially offset by inflationary pressure," it said.

Vodafone reported an EBITDA of GBP 1.24 billion for the year ended March 31, 2013 as against GBP 1.12 billion for the year ended March 31, 2012.

On the Rs 11,200 crore tax liability case, the company said "Vodafone International Holdings BV (VIHBV) is exploring with the Indian Government whether a mechanism exists under Indian law which would allow the parties to explore the possibility of a negotiated resolution of this dispute, but there is no certainty that such a mechanism exists or that a resolution acceptable to both VIHBV and the Indian Government could be reached."

On outlook, Vodafone said: "Entering the new financial year, we continue to face stiff headwinds from regulation, competition and a tough economic environment, particularly in Europe.

"However, we are well positioned, with broad geographic exposure which includes attractive growth markets in India, Africa and the US, and a differentiated enterprise franchise."