Vodafone’s profits plunged in the first half, hit by much lower one-off tax gains and costs linked to a series of acquisitions, but still beat analysts’ expectations, the British mobile phone giant said on Tuesday.
Net profit dived 70 percent to £5.422 billion ($8.589 billion, 6.910 billion euros) in the six months ending September 30, compared with the equivalent period one year earlier, the world’s second-largest mobile operator said in a statement.
But its share price jumped in early deals in London as investors cheered the better-than-expected result and news that Vodafone has upgraded its full-year profits forecast, traders said.
The British group, second only to China Mobile in terms of subscriber numbers, is snapping up companies after last year selling its 45-percent stake in Verizon Wireless to Verizon for $130 billion, clinching one of the biggest transactions in global corporate history.
Vodafone has since bought Spanish cable firm Ono and Kabel Deutschland (KDG), the largest cable operator in Germany.
Vodafone shares were up 4.71 percent to 217.5 pence in morning deals on London’s FTSE 100 index, which was up 0.12 percent at 6,619.18 points.