Vodafone group revenue falls to 14%Vodafone Essar, the Indian unit of the British telecom company has posted lower revenue growth in the December quarter, compared with the September quarter, as a Savage (wild) tariff war hurt the finances of service providers in the world’s fastest-growing telecom market.  The company, which is India’s second-largest GSM operator, has reported a 13.7% growth in revenues at £767 million (Rs 5,623 crore) in the October-December period. In the previous quarter, the growth rate was 18%.

“The growth rate was lower than the previous quarter primarily due to pressure on voice pricing in what is becoming an increasingly competitive market. The impact of the 51% increase in average mobile customers was largely offset by lower effective prices,” Vodafone said in a presentation on its website after announcing the quarterly results.

It pointed out that per-second billing and the phenomenon of multiple SIM cards was exerting pressure on margins. Total minutes on Vodafone Essar’s networks improved 35%, but prices were down by 21%, as the company matched competition by offering calls at as low as one-paisa per second.

Despite the pricing pressure, India has contributed around 75% of Asia Pacific and the Middle East’s organic service revenue growth for Vodafone.