Vodafone Group PLC Chief Executive Officer Arun Sarin will step down, he said Tuesday, as the world’s largest cell phone operator reported a return to a full-year profitability.

Sarin has held the top job for five years and will be replaced by his deputy, Vittorio Colao.

Vodafone said net profit for the year to March 31 was 6.7 billion pounds ($13.25 billion) from a net loss of 4.9 billion pounds a year earlier.

The departure of Indian-born Sarin, 53, came as a surprise to many. He faced disquiet two years ago, when nearly 10 percent of Vodafone shareholders voted against his re-election as chief executive. But the company has since outperformed analyst forecasts and enjoyed revenue growth in fast-growing markets such as India and Turkey.

Under Sarin’s tenure, Vodafone’s customer base from 120 million to 260 million around the world.

Sarin said he “felt the timing was right to hand over as the company is in a good position strategically.”

“I’ve achieved what I set out to achieve when I took the position,” Sarin said in a conference call.

Vodafone shares rose 4 pence, or 2.1 percent, to 167 pence ($3.30).

Impairment charges on Vodafone’s Italian and German operations contributed to the loss last year. The move to net profit was driven by cost reduction and outsourcing programs in Western Europe.

Revenues increased 14 percent to 35.5 billion pounds ($70.2 billion), from 31.1 billion pounds the year before.