Vodafone shares (LON: VOD) surged on Monday’s opening after the group described a “resilient” financial performance during the first half of the year.
Group revenue declined by 2.3% to €21.4bn amid lower revenue from roaming, visitors and handset sales.
The mobile firm says that on the back of its half-year results, it has “increased confidence” in its full year outlook.
Vodafone has increased its guidance to between €14.4bn and €14.6bn for its 2021 financial year. This is up from last year’s guidance of €14.5bn.
The group saw deepening customer engagement, with mobile contract customer loyalty improved year-on-year for an 8th successive quarter and also launched 5G in 127 cities.
In a statement, chief executive Nick Read said: “Today’s results underline increased confidence in our full year outlook. We are reporting a resilient first half performance and we continue to see good commercial momentum across the Group. The results demonstrate the success of our strategic priorities to date, namely increasing customer loyalty, growing our fixed broadband base, driving digitisation to simplify the company and capture significant cost savings, and deliver 5G efficiently through network sharing.
“COVID-19 and the reduction in roaming revenues, through the significant reduction in international travel, is currently obscuring our underlying commercial progress, with Q2 service revenue growing by 1.5% excluding roaming. We are now two years into our longer-term strategy to transform Vodafone into a business that enables a digital society, generating both sustainable growth and attractive returns. We are executing at pace, but there remains more to be done to achieve our goals.
“Now, more than ever, the connectivity services we provide are critical for society and the demand is growing for our services. I am proud of how our dedicated employees have worked tirelessly around the clock to keep everyone connected,” he added.
Vodafone shares (LON: VOD) are trading +3.82% at 124,08 (0948GMT).