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* Keeps dividend after reduction previous year
* FY core earnings up 2.6%, in line with expectations
* Roaming revenues plunge, but data revenues surge
* Shares up 4.7%
(Adds detail, shares)
By Paul Sandle
LONDON, May 12 (Reuters) - Vodafone kept its
dividend on Tuesday, bucking a corporate trend to cut or scrap
payouts due to the coronavirus crisis, as the world's
second-biggest mobile operator met expectations with a 2.6% rise
in full-year core earnings.
The British company said a drop in international travel due
to the virus pandemic had hit its revenues from roaming calls
and that it expected customer spending to suffer from the
economic downturn caused by the health crisis.
However, it also said it was seeing a surge in data usage
and improvements in retaining customers thanks to the speed and
reliability of its networks.
Core earnings reached 14.9 billion euros ($16.1 billion) in
the year ended March 31, with group revenue up 3% to 45.0
billion euros, driven by business in Europe.
Shares in the group, which have fallen 19% in the last 12
months, were up 4.7% to at 118.22 pence at 0800 GMT.
Chief Executive Nick Read cut Vodafone's dividend a year
ago, relieving immediate pressure on its balance sheet.
This time, the group kept its full-year payout at 9.00 euro
cents a share. Rival BT Group last week suspended its
dividend.
Vodafone, which has 65 million mobile contract and 25
million broadband customers in Europe, said roaming in Europe
fell by 65% to 75% in April as the pandemic curbed travel.
It said some of its small business customers had requested
payment deferrals and some of its larger enterprise customers
had sought to delay projects.
However, the pandemic has caused an upsurge in demand for
data as customers are forced to work from home and use
technology to stay in contact with friends and family.
Vodafone said mobile data had increased by 15% and
fixed-line usage by as much as 70% in some markets.
The rate of customer churn, or switching to rivals, fell 4-5
percentage points as mobile companies had to close retail
stores, Vodafone said, adding the rate of new gross consumer
additions reduced by around 40%.
The company said that, given the uncertainties surrounding
the pandemic, it was not able to provide adjusted core earnings
guidance for the current financial year.
But it said that, based on an assessment of the global
economy, it could be flat to slightly down, compared with a
rebased 14.5 billion euros for 2019-20.
It did provide guidance for free cash flow before spectrum
costs, which underpins its dividend, saying it would be at least
5 billion euros.
($1 = 0.9253 euros)
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton and Mark
Potter)
