Vodafone customer losses balloon in June quarter

Vodafone continues to shed mobile customers at an alarming rate in Australia, losing 551,000 in the first half of this year.

Hutchinson Telecommunications Australia on Friday posted a $95.8 million loss for the half-year, a 27.1 percent improvement on the corresponding period. Its share of Vodafone Hutchinson Australia’s net loss for the half was $109.1 million.

Vodafone Plc and Hutchison Whampoa operate a joint venture in Australia, with a half share each of the VHA mobile provider.

At the same time, Vodafone Plc posted an 8.8 percent fall in service revenue in Australia for its June quarter. Its results show mobile customer losses ballooned in the June quarter, when it shed 195,000 customers, up from 108,000 for the March quarter.

The telco said despite significant network improvements the business continued to suffer from weakness in brand perception.

The Vodafone Group did manage to turn the tide around in New Zealand however, where it saw an increase of 19,000 customers during the quarter, up from a loss of 7,000 customers for the previous quarter.

Hutchinson said it remained committed to its investment in VHA, though continuing losses were expected in 2013.