Vodafone’s latest full-year earnings are a tale of two markets. The British telecoms giant was saved by its emerging markets units, in particular India, as its European operations, especially Spain, struggled amid the recession. Full-year net profit dropped 54.4 percent to £3.08 billion, as the company wrote down £5.9 billion, much of it derived from its recession-hit unit in Spain.

Full-year revenues rose 16 percent to £41 billion, in line with analyst forecasts, boosted by the sagging pound and advancing sales in emerging markets. Sales in India, its best performing unit, were up 32.9 percent. Trouble, however, is brewing in Europe, where profitability is declining. Service revenues in Spain fell 4.9 percent in 2008, while the fourth quarter saw an 8.6 percent drop. Service revenues also fell 1.1 percent in the UK and in Vodafone’s largest market Germany, where they slid 2.5 percent. It’s safe to say Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) won’t be giving up its stake in US carrier Verizonanytime soon. Profit at the US carrier was up 44.7 percent in the year, which helped Vodafone offset some of its European losses. More Vodafone earnings at sister site mocoNews.net.

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