Vodafone has reported a significant downturn in revenues for the first six months of fiscal year 2012, with much of the blaming the markets in southern European countries.
Revenues for the group were down 7.4% year on year to just under £21.8bn. But in southern Europe revenues for the period dropped 17.5% to slightly shy of £5.4bn.
Vodafone didn't break down all of the countries in this section, but revealed that Spain and Italy were the worst offenders when it came to service revenues, dropping 19.3% and 18.1% respectively compared to 2011.
"We have continued to make progress on our strategic priorities over the last six months, with good growth in data and emerging markets in particular," said Vittorio Colao, CEO of the Vodafone Group.
"In the short-term, however, our results reflect tougher market conditions, mainly in southern Europe.
"We remain very positive about the longer-term opportunities and our Vodafone 2015 strategy reflects our confidence in the future."
Key aspects of the Vodafone 2015 plan include a focus on unified communications in enterprise and growing exposure to emerging markets, said Vodafone.
Revenues in northern and central Europe were not so badly affected by the struggling economy across the continent, but still reported an overall fall in revenues of 1.5% year on year.
When it came to service revenues, the UK tumbled by 2.6%, but Germany reported an even worse figure, falling 6.5% compared to 2011.
The one positive report Vodafone could celebrate was a £2.4bn dividend from Verizon Wireless, the US mobile company that it holds a 45% stake in. This sum is due to be paid to the company by the end of the year.
