Vodafone continues to lose customers

Vodafone Australia continues to bleed mobile phone customers despite a dedicated turnaround effort.

The telco lost 137,000 mobile subscribers in the six months to June 30 to reach 5.2 million including wholesale customers, new financial results show.

The company says a "saturated" mobile environment has stifled growth.

It also points to "stiff competition from a wide range of alternative providers", particularly in the prepaid space.

The shrinking customer base, combined with the continuing decline in voice and text-message revenue, led to a nine per cent drop in customer service revenue.

Vodafone Australia's previous chief, Bill Morrow, who left for NBN Co in April, promised during his tenure that the company would return to growth in mid-2014 as part of a three-year turnaround plan.

Costs have been cut, and the 137,000 customer bleed is 414,000 fewer than in the corresponding period in 2013, yet new mobile subscribers continue to elude the company.

Telstra dominates the mobile market with 15.8 million subscribers. Second-placed Optus has 9.43 million.