Vodafone India reported solid results for its fiscal year ending 31 March, with revenue growth accelerating in Q4 as it expanded its 3G customer base and data usage soared.

The operator added 14.1 million customers last year to take its total to 198 million. In Q4, its user base expanded by 2.2 million.

Service revenue increased 5 per cent last year, with strong demand for 3G data services partially offset by a number of regulatory changes, including cuts in mobile termination rate, roaming price caps and an increase in service tax. Excluding these, the operator said service revenue growth was 10 per cent.

Q4 growth improved compared with Q3 (5.3 per cent vs 2.3 per cent) as voice price competition moderated during the quarter and regulatory impacts began to decline in March, the company said.

Data usage for the full year jumped 64 per cent year-on-year and its active data customer base increasing by 3.8 million to 67.5 million. Its 3G customer base grew to 27.4 million, up 41.4 per cent year-on-year and smartphone penetration in its four biggest urban areas is near 53 per cent.

Browsing revenue in Q4 accounted for 19.2 per cent of local service revenue, up from 14.9 per cent a year ago.

Since the launch of its Project Spring initiative, it added more than 37,700 3G sites, taking its total to 55,500 and expanding coverage to 95 per cent of the population in target urban areas. The company launched 4G in five key service regions.

Capex fell 8 per cent to £812 million compared with the previous year.

Growth in total voice minutes of use continued but was offset by a decline in average revenue per minute as a result of ongoing competition.

Its M-Pesa business continued to expand, with 1.3 million active customers at the end of March and about 120,000 agents.

Overall revenue for the year was up 4.8 per cent to £4.5 billion, while EBITDA rose 3.8 per cent to £1.33 billion (up 4.1 per cent in local currency). Adjusted profit was up 2.4 per cent to £469 million.

Looking forward, the operator said market conditions remain competitive and may be further impacted by the forthcoming spectrum auctions and a new entrant.

Preparations continue for a potential IPO of Vodafone India.