Organic revenue growth boosts Vodafone's share price

This morning Vodafone's share price swims against the market trend as investors ‘buy' the mobile giant. Nick Raynor, investment adviser at The Share Centre, explains what this means for investors.

"Early morning trading saw Vodafone's share price rise 2% to 152p as the group exceeded expectations by announcing a return to organic growth for the first time since the economic downturn begun. The riding demand for the iPhone in the UK helped to boost service revenue by 1.1% to £10.6m.

"The mobile giant had benefited from its geographical exposure in Africa and Central Europe as revenue grew 30.3%. A considerable boost in the region came from mergers and acquisitions, and currency rates contributed greatly.

"Concerns over the group's growth in India rang true as figures for the region have not delivered on early promises. However, we feel India is still a work in progress for Vodafone with plenty of potential.

"Investors seeking income will also be interested to hear the group are close to receiving a dividend from its holdings in US wireless operator Verizon Wireless. This hasn't happened since 2005 and will reinforce the pledge Vodafone made in May 2010 to increase annual dividend growth by at least 7% for the next three years.

"Due to its promise of global growth we continue to list Vodafone as a ‘buy' for medium risk investors geared more towards income."