Overseas roaming price hikes have helped reverse years of lacklustre growth in the UK for mobile network Vodafone (VOD) in the first three months of its financial year to 31 March 2023.

But while squeezing Brits abroad helped offset declines in its biggest market Germany, as new regulation had an impact, it will do little to lift the pressure on Vodafone chief executive Nick Read.

Vodafone issued a largely in-line trading update for the first quarter to 30 June 2022 showing overall revenue nudging 2.7% to €11.28 billion, most of which was due to mobile price rises in the UK as rules on roaming charges were lifted following Brexit.

This was illustrated by organic services revenue growth in the UK in the quarter hitting 6.7%, compared to a range of between 0.6% growth and 2% declines across its major markets in Germany, Italy and Spain.

Investors continue to hope that Read will be able to use mergers and takeovers to spice up years of lacklustre financial performance from Vodafone, and equally flat shareholder returns.

In the second half to March 2022 Vodafone reported revenues and EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of £2.88 billion and £636 million respectively, versus £2.51 billion and £582 million in the second six months of 2009, report analysts at Megabuyte.

‘This was somewhat of an underlying decline given that Vodafone acquired Cable & Wireless Worldwide in 2012, which added about £2.1 billion in annual revenues and £370 million of EBITDA,’ said Megabuyte’s Philip Carse.

Vodafone shares have handed shareholders an average 2.65% a year return, including dividends, over the past decade, lagging even the FTSE 100’s fairly modest 6.86% annualised total return.

Vodafone has recently been linked to possible acquisitions of rival mobile network Three UK and broadband, home phone and mobile provider TalkTalk, which left the UK stock market in a take private deal orchestrated by Charles Dunstone, the company’s joint founder and, at the time, largest shareholder.

Reports earlier this month said that TalkTalk is in talks with Vodafone rival Virgin Media O2 over a possible £3 billion merger, which if true, would leave Three its only realistic UK-based target.

So far, Vodafone’s strategic rethink has included spinning off mobile masts business Vantage Towers (VTWR:ETR) as a standalone business, refocusing the portfolio through a range of disposals, and positioning the company for ever-greater consumption of data.

But without more dramatic activity, investors may become concerned about the sustainability of Vodafone’s dividend, one of its chief reasons to own the shares. Last year it paid €2.47 billion in dividends to shareholders from €2.62 billion post tax net income.

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