Author Archives: Dave Evans
Vodafone ‘delaying 4G launch’ till September
Needs Apple to get on board with iPhone
UK operator Vodafone is reported to have put back rollout of its 4G services to September this year [2013], pending the launch of a compatible iPhone. The latest version of Apple’s flagship device reportedly doesn’t run on the 800MHz and 2.6GHz spectrum that Vodafone spent £790 million on acquiring in the Ofcom auction recently, though it is compatible with the network of Britain’s only current 4G operator, EE. Continue reading
Shipments of Samsung’s Galaxy S4 hit 10m milestone just a month after launch
Manufacturer’s fastest selling phone yet
Channel sales of Samsung‘s news flagship smartphone the Galaxy S4 have already hit the 10 million mark, just a month after its debut. It means the S4 is now the South Korean manufacturer’s most successful handset yet, selling faster than any of its predecessors. The landmark number of units shipped to mobile operators was revealed by Samsung today (23rd May 2013), though just over a week ago it also revealed that it had shipped 6 million handsets – demonstrating the staggering pace at which the phones are selling. Continue reading
Urturn wins £8.9m backing to help it woo mobile audience
Startup site gains celebrity following in just four months
British social networking startup Urturn has raised £8.9 million ($13.4 million) in funding as it switches its focus to mobile apps. The company, which describes its service as a ‘social platform for self expression’, was launched only in January by CEO, Stelio Tzonis, and has just 25 employees, but it already boasts a celebrity following including Will.i.am and Snoop Dog. Its site allows users to customise photos and video clips before then sending them to friends. It has now become the latest social media fledgling to attract the attention of financiers Balderton Capital, who are leading the investment initiative. Continue reading
Vodafone’s full year revenues slump
No windfall dividend from Verizon payout, investors also told
Vodafone‘s shares are expected to take a dive when trading resumes this morning (21st May 2013) after full year results to the end of March showed group revenue to have slumped 4.2 per cent to £44.4 billion, with an accompanying decline in organic service revenue of 1.9 per cent. A further disappointment to investors is the news that the British operator is to keep in its own coffers the bulk of the £2.4 billion it recently achieved from its 45 per cent stake in America’s Verizon Wireless, rather than distribute it as a special dividend. Instead investors will get a final dividend of 6.92 pence per share. Continue reading
Sacked Nokia workers launch own smartphone using ditched technology
Meego never given a fair chance, they say, as new op rises from the ashes
A group of ex-Nokia workers who believe the Finnish manufacturer was wrong to ditch its Meego operating system have unveiled their own smartphone using the abandoned technology. The workers, who lost their jobs after Nokia’s CEO, Stephen Elop, opted for Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform, set up their own company called Jolla soon afterwards and yesterday, with Meego now reborn as Sailfish, launched their first smartphone. Continue reading
MegaFon boss ups stake to 2.5% as shares surge
Stock worth half as much again since London IPO
MegaFon’s CEO, Ivan Tavrin, has upped his stake in the company to 2.5 per cent, after purchasing an additional 1.25 per cent under a long term incentive plan. The value of MegaFon’s shares has risen by more than half since the part flotation in London last November when Tavrin bought his first tranche for $20 a share – the same price as his latest stake. Under the incentive plan he has the option to purchase up to 5 per cent of the operator’s capital. Continue reading
Britain’s Three hints at volte-face on 4G rollout
May now bring it forward rather than lose customers
Britain’s fourth biggest mobile operator, Three (3UK), may bring forward its introduction of 4G networks in a bid to counter the headstart gained by rivals. The carrier had originally intended to introduce 4G by the end of 2013, but now CEO, David Dyson, has revealed its customers could have access to the ultra-fast networks by this Summer if thought necessary. Continue reading
MegaFon investors to share $1.3bn dividend windfall
Usmanov alone set to pocket quarter billion dollars from controlling stake
MegaFon, the Russian mobile operator owned by controversial billionaire Alisher Usmanov, is to pay out a bumper $1.3 billion in dividends after beating analysts’ earnings estimates. It means Usmanov, who part floated the company in London last November, himself stands to become more than £250 million richer thanks to the payout. Continue reading
Samsung edging out Apple in smartphone wars
South Korea’s Samsung has further extended its lead over Apple as the world’s largest smartphone maker, taking a 31 per cent share of recent sales according to new data.
Research firm Gartner says the manufacturing giant sold 64.7 million smartphones in Q1 2013, against 38.1 million iPhone sales. It means Samsung is increasing its lead since a year ago when it sold 40.6 million smartphones to Apple’s 33.1 million.
Together, the two companies now account for nearly half the smartphone market which in itself is increasing by 43 per cent a year. Gartner says more than 200 million people bought smartphones in the quarter, and that the devices now account for just AMeanwhile, Nokia’s shares slump after release of latest WP8 model
South Korea’s Samsung has further extended its lead over Apple as the world’s largest smartphone maker, taking a 31 per cent share of recent sales according to new data. Research firm Gartner says the manufacturing giant sold 64.7 million smartphones in Q1 2013, against 38.1 million iPhone sales. It means Samsung is increasing its lead since a year ago when it sold 40.6 million smartphones to Apple’s 33.1 million.
Together, the two companies now account for nearly half the smartphone market which in itself is increasing by 43 per cent a year. Gartner says more than 200 million people bought smartphones in the quarter, and that the devices now account for just under half of total phone sales globally.under half of total phone sales globally. Continue reading
Vodafone gets unexpected cash boost from stake in joint US venture
Shares poised to rise in London
Vodafone shares are expected to get a fillip when trading opens early today (14th May 2013), after the surprise news from New York last night that it has been handed a £2.1 billion windfall from its stake in joint US venture Verizon Wireless (VZW). The news came too late to impact the British operator’s stock price in London where shares had closed around a half per cent down on the day, settling at 193 pence. Continue reading
Verizon ‘mulling huge bond issue’ as fight to secure Vodafone stake in joint venture rages on
Verizon Communications could issue as much as $20 billion in the international bond market in a single transaction soon, eclipsing even Apple’s huge $17 billion bond sale last week.
That’s the prospect that has analysts salivating, convinced as they are that Verizon is putting together a war chest in its ongoing bid to buy out Vodafone’s stake in their joint venture, Verizon Wireless. Continue reading
Monitise stock soars on Visa deal and fund manager’s endorsement
Shares in Aim-listed, mobile money firm Monitise leapt nearly 9 per cent in early trading today following a double whammy of upbeat news.
First, it was revealed that the company had completed a final contract with Visa Europe to deploy mobile money payments and commerce services for Europe’s financial institutions, ratifying an earlier announcement. Monitise also said it was granting Visa Europe – already its major shareholder – a warrant to purchase 43 million ordinary shares at a price of 36.25 pence. Continue reading
China Mobile audit unearths accountancy ‘problems’
Suggestions of graft and inflated sales
China Mobile, the world’s biggest mobile operator by subscribers, has revealed it is overhauling its accounting practices and internal management after a government audit hinted at problems. In recent years several executives and former executives of group parent China Mobile Communications – an unlisted company – have been investigated by Beijing officials amid reports of bribery, according to Chinese media reports. Continue reading
Anite shares emerge from the doldrums on upbeat trading news
Says revenues now look more promising
Shares in mobile phone testing specialist, Anite, closed more than 7 per cent higher in London last night, allaying concerns earlier in the year that it was in for a bumpy ride ahead. The price surge helped correct a 15 per cent plunge in the company’s stock in March after it admitted that its order intake was lower than 12 months previously. It also warned at the time that it needed to put in a strong fourth-quarter to meet financial targets for the year, further spooking investors and sending shares down to 131 pence. Continue reading
O2 gets the customers in, but revenues still head south
Subscriber growth is at expense of rivals
Britain’s second-biggest mobile operator, O2, says customer growth is accelerating as it prepares for the launch of new 4G services. The operator, owned by Spain’s Telefonica, added 251,000 extra contract customers in the three months to April 2013, the fastest first-quarter growth it has witnessed in four years. And although it lost almost as many pay-as-you-go users, it still registered growth of 46,000 more of them as its main rivals, Orange and T-Mobile owner EE, saw customers defect. Continue reading
