Revenue per user remains flat for Vodafone in Karnataka

 Mobile network operator Vodafone said on Tuesday that its average revenue per user (ARPU) , a key performance metric, remained almost flat during the first three quarters of 2013-14 in Karnataka Circle, though its subscriber base increased modestly during the period.

The ARPU during the first three quarters was Rs 223, Rs 222 and Rs 225 while number of subscribers went up from 67.80 lakh in the first quarter to 69.20 lakh in the second and 71.05 lakh in the third quarter ended December 2013, the company said.

The company's revenues in Karnataka Circle trended from Rs 480.6 crore in the first quarter to Rs 481.20 crore in the second quarter. Third quarter revenues went up 3.74 per cent on a sequential basis to Rs 499 crore in the third quarter. Cumulative revenues for the three quarters stood at Rs 1,460.80 crore.

The Business Head for Karnataka Circle, Atanu Batabyal, while interacting with reporters here on Tuesday, said that the Circle’s full year revenues would be about Rs 2,000 crore. On the revenue mix, he said, “Data services account for about 10 per cent of revenues and have grown by about 56 per cent in the first three quarters, YoY.” He added that the company's share in the Circle is about 15.6 per cent.

The company also said that it plans to launch its money transfer and payment service “M-Pesa” in south India in a month. Its Operations Director, South India, Suresh Kumar R said, “We have launched it in fifteen circles across the country...in south we have scheduled it for March-April.”

Kumar said that among the southern states, the maximum revenues for Vodafone come from Tamil Nadu followed by Karnataka. He added that India is the third largest contributor to its revenues globally.