<p>Vodafone boss Nick Read gave an upbeat assessment of the mobile operator's post-pandemic prospects on Wednesday, predicting accelerating growth after it reported an increase in third-quarter revenue.</p>.<p>The world's second-largest mobile operator soundly beat analyst expectations for organic service revenue growth - including the likes of monthly access charges, airtime usage and roaming - in the three months to Dec. 31.</p>.<p>Its 0.4% growth compared with analyst expectations of a decline between 0.1% and 0.2%.</p>.<p>Shares in the company rose 4.9% to 133.6 pence by 1032 GMT.</p>.<p>Chief Executive Read said there was momentum across the business, including in its largest market, Germany.</p>.<p>"We are now firmly back into growth and I expect that growth to accelerate from here," he said on Wednesday.</p>.<p>Vodafone reiterated its guidance for adjusted full-year earnings of between 14.4 billion euros ($17.3 billion) and 14.6 billion euros, against 14.5 billion the previous year, while generating free cashflow of at least 5 billion euros.</p>.<p>Vodafone's organic service revenue had fallen 0.4% in the second quarter and 1.3% in the first quarter as roaming revenue was hit by the coronavirus-related drop in travel.</p>.<p>Germany produced the biggest quarter-on-quarter improvement among Vodafone's major European markets, with service revenue up 1%. Broadband customers had upgraded to higher-speed plans during the pandemic, Vodafone said.</p>.<p>The company's Italian business continued to be squeezed by fierce competition in the low-value part of the mobile market, while price competition in Spain was compounded by the pandemic's impact on roaming and visitor revenue.</p>.<p>A recent report in Spain's El Confidencial said Vodafone was in talks with rival MasMovil about a potential tie-up.</p>.<p>"I'm not going to comment on long-running speculation," Read said on Wednesday. "What I would say is I am very pleased with our performance in Spain."</p>.<p>"I think what you could say is consolidation is probably needed in Spain."</p>.<p>On Italy, Read said there were encouraging signs on what could be "a first tentative step to maybe more sustainable pricing".</p>.<p>Read also said the listing of the group's infrastructure company Vantage Towers was firmly on track to take place early this year.</p>.<p>Vodafone has chosen a full bank syndicate for the listing on the Frankfurt exchange in March, Reuters reported on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Vodafone boss Nick Read gave an upbeat assessment of the mobile operator's post-pandemic prospects on Wednesday, predicting accelerating growth after it reported an increase in third-quarter revenue.</p>.<p>The world's second-largest mobile operator soundly beat analyst expectations for organic service revenue growth - including the likes of monthly access charges, airtime usage and roaming - in the three months to Dec. 31.</p>.<p>Its 0.4% growth compared with analyst expectations of a decline between 0.1% and 0.2%.</p>.<p>Shares in the company rose 4.9% to 133.6 pence by 1032 GMT.</p>.<p>Chief Executive Read said there was momentum across the business, including in its largest market, Germany.</p>.<p>"We are now firmly back into growth and I expect that growth to accelerate from here," he said on Wednesday.</p>.<p>Vodafone reiterated its guidance for adjusted full-year earnings of between 14.4 billion euros ($17.3 billion) and 14.6 billion euros, against 14.5 billion the previous year, while generating free cashflow of at least 5 billion euros.</p>.<p>Vodafone's organic service revenue had fallen 0.4% in the second quarter and 1.3% in the first quarter as roaming revenue was hit by the coronavirus-related drop in travel.</p>.<p>Germany produced the biggest quarter-on-quarter improvement among Vodafone's major European markets, with service revenue up 1%. Broadband customers had upgraded to higher-speed plans during the pandemic, Vodafone said.</p>.<p>The company's Italian business continued to be squeezed by fierce competition in the low-value part of the mobile market, while price competition in Spain was compounded by the pandemic's impact on roaming and visitor revenue.</p>.<p>A recent report in Spain's El Confidencial said Vodafone was in talks with rival MasMovil about a potential tie-up.</p>.<p>"I'm not going to comment on long-running speculation," Read said on Wednesday. "What I would say is I am very pleased with our performance in Spain."</p>.<p>"I think what you could say is consolidation is probably needed in Spain."</p>.<p>On Italy, Read said there were encouraging signs on what could be "a first tentative step to maybe more sustainable pricing".</p>.<p>Read also said the listing of the group's infrastructure company Vantage Towers was firmly on track to take place early this year.</p>.<p>Vodafone has chosen a full bank syndicate for the listing on the Frankfurt exchange in March, Reuters reported on Tuesday.</p>