Mobile phone giant Vodafone smashed expectations today by posting a 41% jump in underlying pre-tax profits for the first half of the year.
Chief executive Christopher Gent said margins and turnover were up across the business with more revenue coming from text and data services.
Pre-tax profits soared to £4.25bn (€6.68bn) in the six months to September 30 before one-off costs, up from £3.01bn (€4.73bn) last year.
Vodafone said extra advertising costs and the launch of 3G services in Japan meant the second half performance would be weaker.
But Mr Gent said the group remained “very confident” in the future prospects for the business.