Gent reveals €11.66bn Vodafone profit

Vodafone boss Christopher Gent today unveiled underlying profits of £8.43bn (€11.66bn) in his final full year at the helm of the mobile phone giant.

The figure for the 12 months to March 31 is a 36% improvement on a year earlier and comes after the group lifted turnover 33% to £30.37bn (€42.02bn).

Amid jitters from other phone operators, Vodafone also resisted pressure to write down the value of 3G licences bought at the height of the telecoms boom.

Gent is due to step down in July after helping build up the company over the last 17 years, including the last six as chief executive.

Chairman Lord MacLaurin said Gent had taken Vodafone from a company of “modest scale and international reach to the leading mobile telecommunications company in the world”.

He added: “Once again we have delivered excellent results and this is a great testament to Sir Christopher Gent, our retiring chief executive.”