Vodafone sees no sign of slowdown

Vodafone share price

The mobile phone giant Vodafone says it has not yet seen signs of an economic slowdown and believes it is well placed to cope with a potential recession.

The firm reported revenue of £9.16bn for the last three months of 2007, which was 15.8% up on the same period in 2006.

The growth was helped by acquisitions in India and Turkey as well as favourable exchange rate movements.

On a like-for-like basis, revenue grew by a more modest 4.4%.

Strong US results

"This is a robust performance by Vodafone, although there may just be a tinge of disappointment, with management only hinting at possible guidance upgrades as opposed to confirming any," said Keith Bowman from Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers.

Vodafone raised its forecast for full year profits when it reported six-month figures in November and has not raised its forecast from that level.

Chief executive Arun Sarin said he was optimistic about how the firm would weather a global slowdown because of its recent performance in the US.

"We've seen very strong results in the US and the US is supposed to be leading the parade, as it were, on where the economies might head," he said.