OSLO: Since selling off the family silver – the stake in Verizon Wireless – Vodafone (LON:VOD) has yet to define what the next act in its play will be like.
The mobile phone network operator failed to upgrade its networks when its rivals did and now it must play catch-up, according to David Madden at spread betting firm IG.
Alternatively, it could look around to buy a company that has a better network.
The market had been pinning its hopes on an asset swap with US media titan Liberty Global that would see the pair combine their European operations, but according to broker Nomura the negotiations ended because of relative valuation disagreements.
We believe that there was at least some common ground over deal structure and expect talks to be revived once the post summer market levels have been digested by both sides,” the broker said.
Analysts are expecting Tuesday’s half-year results to reveal revenue of £20.1bn and post-tax profit of £465mln, down from £774mln the year before.
Emerging markets, such as India and Turkey, should provide most of the bright spots, as they did in the first two quarters of the year, while the continued upsurge in data volumes compared to voice should continue.
Organic service revenue growth is unlikely to have changed much from the 0.8% seen in the first quarter, according to RBC Capital.
