Vodafone hit by rivals’ deal offers

The group reported a 0.8 per cent drop in underlying UK revenues to £1.2bn for the three months to June 30, against growth of 1.1 per cent the previous quarter.

It blamed the fall on wider economic woes as customers cut down on their mobile phone usage and “significant” competition from rivals as they step up efforts to attract customers.

A raft of mobile phone firms have been launching tariffs offering unlimited data, calls and texts in recent months – such as O2 and 3 with its One plan.

Vodafone said: “Macroeconomic pressures continue to impact consumer confidence adversely.

“In addition, there has been significant competitive pressure during the quarter resulting from competitors introducing a number of new unlimited tar-iffs.”

Shares in the group fell 3 per cent as wider group revenues also showed the impact of the eurozone crisis.