Shares in Vodafone (LON:VOD) were higher in early trade as first-half results from the world’s second-largest mobile operator beat City hopes.
Italy and Germany were at the vanguard as Voda weighed in with earnings before interest tax and depreciation of €7.9bn, up 4% on a year ago and €100mln ahead of analysts’ consensus forecasts.
That said, the company guided the market down a little in so far as the full-year outcome is concerned. The top of the range comes back to €100mln to €16.1bn, with a lower end figure of €15.7bn.
“Overall, we expect to sustain our underlying performance in the second half of the year and remain on track to meet our full-year objectives despite macroeconomic uncertainties,” said chief executive Vittorio Colao.
“This performance allows for improved returns to our shareholders, as reflected by the growth in the interim dividend.”
The payout grew almost 2% to 4.74 cents.
At 8.40am the shares were changing hands for 208.55p, representing a rise of 2%.
Of the 15 analysts logged by the Broker Forecasts site as following Vodafone, 11 are buyers of the stock. The remainder are ‘neutral’ on the stock.
The consensus price target is 255p, down from 263p six months ago, but significantly ahead of the current market valuation.