Vodafone Posts Loss in Fiscal Year

Vodafone Group, Europe’s largest mobile phone company, said it lost about $19.6 billion last year due to write-downs in the value of acquisitions it made during its far-flung expansion at the height of the technology boom.

But the British company reported an operating profit of $10.2 billion for the year that ended March 31, up 34% from $7.6 billion a year ago and beating analysts’ high-end forecast of $10.1 billion. Revenue rose 53% to $33.4 billion.

The company also said it expects double-digit revenue growth and a 36% rise in earnings for the current year.

Vodafone’s net loss, the largest ever for a British company, included a write-down of about $8.7 billion to cover the reduced value of its stakes in five companies. Some analysts had expected a write-off as large as $36.3 billion to hack away at a mountain of goodwill piled up with the purchase of Germany’s Mannesmann two years ago.

Shares of Vodafone rose in early trading in London as investors focused on the operating results.

But as the day wore on, doubts over whether the company could keep up the fast pace of core earnings growth undermined the initial gains. In New York, Vodafone’s shares closed off $1.01 at $15.19 on the Big Board. The shares have lost a third of their value this year.