LONDON (Reuters) - Vodafone, the world's largest mobile phone group by revenues, is to accelerate the rate of its cost cutting programme after increasing its impairment charges to 5.9 billion pounds due to problems in Spain and Turkey.
Vodafone <VOD.L>, which also posted full-year revenues, earnings and free-cash-flow in line with analyst forecasts on Tuesday, said in November it would cut 1 billion pounds of costs to maintain profits and boost free cash flow after saying conditions would be challenging.
Vodafone also set out its forecast range for the year 2009 to 2010, but failed to give an exact revenue forecast after twice downgrading its target during the financial year just ended.
It expects adjusted operating profit to be in the range of 11 billion pounds to 11.8 billion pounds, and free cash flow to be in the range of 6 billion pounds to 6.5 billion pounds.
It said recent revenue trends were assumed to continue in the challenging environment, and that capital expenditure would be similar to the 2009 financial year after adjusting for foreign exchange.
For the year just finished, it posted revenues up 15.6 percent at 41 billion pounds, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation up 10 percent to 14.5 billion pounds, both in line with forecasts.
It said it would accelerate its cost cutting programme, with over 65 percent to be achieved in the 2010 financial year.
(Reporting by Kate Holton)