UK sales lift O2

Mobile phone giant posts double digit growth

The supplier's mobile sales are up across the UK

Double digit sales growth in the UK has helped mobile phone firm O2 offset an otherwise slow second quarter in which overall revenue has risen just three per cent.

Sales across the UK are up more than 10 per cent to €1.8bn (£1.2bn), while across Europe revenue has risen from €3.4bn (£2.3bn) to €3.5bn (£2.4bn).

The UK performance is even more impressive when measured across six months with a 32 per cent rise to €3.6bn (£2.43).

The growth was achieved despite highly competitive European markets, says O2 chief executive Peter Erskine.

‘Against this backdrop, O2 has built on its robust start to the year, adding 534,000 mobile customers in the second quarter,’ he said. ‘In the UK, the momentum of the first quarter was maintained with 34,000 new customers.’

O2 now has more than 36 million mobile customers across Europe, 8.4 per cent higher than last year, with almost 18 million based in the UK.

And while 42,000 pre-pay customers were lost in the UK, many migrated to contracts, which traditionally attract higher monthly spend.

O2 expects sales to grow between 11 and 14 per cent for the full year, while the UK is predicting 15 to 18 per cent revenue growth. Full year results will be announced in December.