Growth from non-voice services combined with a 33 per cent upturn in voice usage has driven an increase in Vodafone's first quarter Total Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) against June 2006.
"We are very pleased with Vodafone's overall performance and we are working to further leverage the synergies we see with Ihug to provide even better services to our customers," says Chief Financial Officer James Marsh.
The results show that Total ARPU has increased over the past year from $46.6 to $47.1. "There are two key factors driving the ARPU increase. Non-voice services revenue is up combined with an increased mix of high value customers," says Marsh.
On account ARPU has declined to $117.2, down $5.7 from the March quarter and down $9.0 from June last year. Prepay has also declined to $21.4 down $2.0 from the March quarter and down $1.8 from June last year.
"This is partly due to our reduction in mobile termination rates in the past quarter. Lower termination rates have reduced our revenue growth, however the savings are being passed on to customers and we remain steadfastly committed to lowering prices. In addition our fixed line provider Ihug has recently introduced some of the lowest fixed-line to mobile pricing in the country," says Marsh.
Vodafone's first quarter results show over the past year voice usage has increased 33 per cent from 597 million minutes to 793 million minutes.
"This reflects the uptake and appeal of new service and rateplan offerings to our customers. We have had great success with You Choose and BestMate for example," says Marsh.
There were 24,000 net customer additions for the period, in line with Vodafone's cyclical expectations for this quarter.
Marsh says this is slightly down on last years comparative period, and cites market saturation as the reason. Vodafone now has a total of 2,268,000 customers, up from 2,100,000 a year ago.
He says the past quarter has seen customers continue to benefit from the results of the companys ongoing investment in its network by extending 3G broadband services into regional New Zealand, including Invercargill and Hamner Springs this quarter.
"Another highlight during this period was signing our second wholesale deal, this time with Compass Communications, allowing it to start offering mobile services to New Zealanders, using Vodafones network," says Marsh.
"Overall Vodafone's first quarter results show customers benefit from the company's commitment to reducing prices and its innovative new offers. As we roll out our Mobile Plus strategy, customers are able to do more with the services on offer. This year alone we've introduced Sky Mobile TV to the mobile device with live coverage of All Blacks matches and the Vodafone Music Store continues to lead the digital music revolution in New Zealand."
The comparative figures…
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