Vodafone posts 246m-euro profit

Local operator of mobile telephony services Vodafone Romania last year reported a gross profit worth 891.48 million RON (some 246 million euros at the average annual exchange rate for 2005), according to financial data published by the company in the Official Gazette. Vodafone’s gross profit increased by 9.4% last year, against 2004, when it stood at some 815 million RON (224.9 million euros). Business of the second biggest mobile telephony operator in Romania in terms of number of customers, stood at 2.67 billion RON (736.8 million euros) in 2005, a 16.5% increase against the previous year. The company’s turnover stood at 2.29 billion RON (632 million euros) in 2004, according to data published by the Ministry of Finance. Vodafone has some 6.73 million users, a value achieved at the end of June, an increase by 351,248 people against the first quarter of this year. The number of 3G service customers grew by over 20,000, standing at 171,237 users in the second quarter of this year. Out of the total number of customers, some 66% are users of prepaid cards. Vodafone’s main competitor on the local market is Orange Romania, which reported a gross profit worth 1.17 billion RON (some 323 million euros) for 2005, a 20% increase against the previous year.