Vodafone customer base grows by 50%

Vodafone has seen its customer base grow by 50% over the past year.

The company says it gained more than 30 million customers in the year to March 31 across its various worldwide operations.

Only 4.4 million customers were added in the last quarter, but chief executive Chris Gent says this reflected the slowdown in customer growth after a "buoyant Christmas quarter".

He says the slowdown is also because Vodafone is no longer concentrating on increasing its market share.

Instead the company is improving its margins and cashflow and keeping its customers.

The company's total customer base, including its share of joint ventures, is now 83.4 million.