Total Group revenue grew by 5% to €9.8 billion in Q3, with group service revenue rising by 5.6% to €7.9 billion, as Vodafone reported organic service revenue growth was offset by “adverse foreign exchange movements”.
After selling Vodafone Italy to Swisscom and getting the green light to merge its UK brand with Three, the telco giant said its European streamlining efforts will help reshape the the business for growth.
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Margherita Della Valle, group chief executive of Vodafone Group, told investors: “A year ago I set out my plans to transform Vodafone, including the need to right-size Europe for growth. Since then, we have announced a series of transactions and we are now delivering growth in all of our markets across Europe and Africa.
“We are on track to grow in line with our full-year guidance for this year, which we reiterate today, and are looking forward to a stronger Vodafone in the years ahead.”
Vodafone’s latest earning report was, however, weighed down with subpar results in Germany, its biggest market, where revenues declined by 6.4%.
The firm cited a law change which ended bulk contracts for users living in apartment buildings, resulting in Vodafone losing more than half of its customers.
Compounding its woes in Germany, Vodafone saw mobile service revenue decrease by 1%, citing “higher competitive intensity in the market”.
Mobile provider 1&1 had begun migrating their customers onto Vodafone’s network as part of a long-term roaming agreement, though the company reported the process has been “slower than expected”.
Della Valle told investors that Vodafone will “step up investment” in its customer experience and improve its performance in Germany.
“We are continuing to invest in the turnaround of our German business and we are starting to see improving customer trends, although conditions have become more challenging in the mobile market,” the chief executive said.
It was better news in Africa, however, as Vodafone saw organic service revenue growth accelerate to 11.6%, up from 9.7% in Q2, driven by strong performances in South Africa and Egypt.
The company's financial services products continued to gain traction, with its VodaPay super-app reaching 10.1 million registered users, while M-Pesa revenue grew by 9.7% to €103.5 million across its international markets.
Meanwhile, Vodafone Business maintained its growth momentum with organic service revenue up 4.3% in Q3, supported by double-digit growth in digital services, including cloud and security offerings.
The division saw particularly strong performance in Africa, where Vodacom Business service revenue grew by 10.8% organically.
Kester Mann, director for consumer and connectivity at CCS Insight, said after a turbulent few years, Vodafone “finally has wind in its sails”.
Investment in markets such as the UK is paying off, Africa is poised for further growth and crucial restructuring is now largely complete,” Mann said. “However, investors remain unconvinced; Vodafone shares were down more than 5% in early trading and are 4% lower since the start of 2025.
“It’s proof that turning around a large company takes time. Maybe it’ll only be when shareholders see clear evidence of a rebound in Germany that sentiment improves.”
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