Vodafone looks to future prospects

Analysts will be looking at the long-term prospects of Vodafone when it reveals its interim results next Tuesday.

Pre-tax profits of £2.65bn are expected, up from £1.82bn.

But analysts say the next generation of mobile phones will further boost Vodafone's performance.

The company recently ceded its premier position in the UK market to Orange.

Its most important European markets are Germany, following the Mannesmann acquisition, and Italy, through Omnitel.

In the US, Verizon, in which Vodafone has a 45% stake, is now serving over 27million subscribers.

Vodafone's proportionate active subscriber base is now 85 million.

Nigel Hawkins, of Williams de Broe, said: "Having won key European 3G licences - albeit at massive cost - we believe that Vodafone's long-term appeal will strengthen.

"Moreover, with a projected £14.8bn year-end net debt - following the Japan Telecom deal - there is far less concern about its balance sheet compared with several leading incumbent telcos."