Form 6-K

 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

 

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

Report of Foreign Private Issuer

 

Pursuant to Rules 13a-16 or 15d-16 of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

Dated May 30, 2007

 

VODAFONE GROUP

PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

VODAFONE HOUSE, THE CONNECTION, NEWBURY, BERKSHIRE, RG14 2FN, ENGLAND (Address of principal executive offices)

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.

 

 

Form 20-F

ü

 

Form 40-F

 

 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

 

 

Yes

 

 

No

ü

 

 

If “Yes” is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b):

 


 

This Report on Form 6-K contains a news release issued by Vodafone Group Plc on May 29, 2007, entitled “VODAFONE ANNOUNCES RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2007”.

 


 

VODAFONE GROUP PLC

 

Embargo:

 

 

Not for publication

VODAFONE ANNOUNCES RESULTS FOR

 

before 07:00 hours

THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2007

 

29 May 2007

 

Key highlights:

 

        The Group has delivered against its financial and operating targets and made good progress on executing against its five strategic objectives

 

        Voice and data usage growth offset competitive and regulatory pressures in Europe

 

        Continued strong performance in emerging markets, with the recent acquisition in India significantly increasing its presence in high growth markets

 

        The Group remains confident of delivering its stated capital and operating expenditure targets in Europe in the 2008 financial year, with core cost reduction initiatives well on track

 

Financial performance(1)(2):

 

        Group revenue of £31.1 billion, with organic growth of 4.3%

 

        Adjusted basic earnings per share increased by 11.4% to 11.26 pence. Basic loss per share was 8.94 pence, with loss before taxation for the year of £2.4 billion, after impairment charges of £11.6 billion

 

        Free cash flow of £6.1 billion and net cash inflow from operating activities of £10.2 billion, after net taxation paid of £2.2 billion

 

Increasing returns to shareholders:

 

        Total dividends per share increased by 11.4% to 6.76 pence, with a final dividend per share of 4.41 pence, giving a dividend payout ratio of 60% and a total payout of £3.6 billion for the financial year

 

        In recognition of the earnings dilution arising from the Hutchison Essar transaction, the Board is targeting modest increases in dividend per share in the near term until the payout ratio returns to 60% in accordance with current policy

 

(1)  See page 4 for Group Financial and Operational Highlights and page 30 for use of non-GAAP financial information.

(2)  From continuing operations.

 

 

Arun Sarin, Chief Executive, commented:

 

“These results show we have made good progress in the execution of our strategy. We have implemented core cost reduction measures, introduced targeted revenue stimulation initiatives in Europe and launched a number of services focusing on our customers’ total communications needs. The last year has also seen a further reshaping of Vodafone’s portfolio, with our acquisitions in Turkey and India further increasing the Group’s exposure to the exciting growth opportunities in emerging markets. We are well placed to continue delivering on our strategy.”

 


 

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S STATEMENT

 

We have met or exceeded our stated financial expectations for the year in all areas and made good progress executing the strategy we set out in May 2006.

 

Robust cash generation continues to support returns to our shareholders, with dividends per share increasing by 11.4% to 6.76 pence per share, representing a payout of 60% of our adjusted earnings per share of 11.26p.

 

Our customer franchise was further strengthened through organic growth and acquisition and now exceeds 206 million proportionate customers.

 

Proportionate mobile revenue increased by 6.3% on an organic basis. The Europe region, where competitive and regulatory pressure is most intense, delivered organic proportionate revenue growth of 1.4%. Continued strong progress in Spain, which delivered another year of double digit revenue growth was offset by year on year declines in Germany and Italy. Our EMAPA region delivered another year of strong growth with organic proportionate revenue growth of 14.9%, with strong performances in many emerging markets and revenue growth of 17% in local currency from Verizon Wireless in the US. Proportionate mobile EBITDA margins were slightly lower year on year in line with our outlook statement, with lower margins in Europe offsetting stable margins in EMAPA.

 

We invested £4.2 billion in capital expenditure during the year and have now achieved the core level of 3G and HSDPA coverage across our European networks necessary for the wider uptake of high speed data services. Free cash generation remains strong at £6.1 billion, after £0.4 billion of payments in respect of long standing tax issues but benefiting from £0.5 billion of timing differences and the deferral of payments originally expected in the year.

 

Pricing intervention on top-up fees in Italy in the second half of the year led to a further impairment of £3.5 billion to the carrying value of goodwill in addition to the £8.1 billion recorded in the first half of the year for Germany and Italy.

 

In May 2006, we introduced five new strategic objectives to ensure our continued success. Our focus on executing this strategy throughout the year has generated positive results across a number of areas.

 

Revenue stimulation and cost reduction in Europe

 

In Europe, our focus is to drive additional usage and revenue from core voice and messaging services and to reduce our cost base thereby positioning ourselves well for the future.

 

Central to stimulating revenue is driving mobile usage through larger minute bundles, innovative tariffs, prepaid to contract migrations and targeted promotions. We are also focused on leveraging our market leading position in the business segment which represents around 25% of European service revenue. However, pricing pressure is expected to remain strong in the year ahead and improving price elasticity is core to our revenue stimulation objective in Europe.

 

Over 11 million customers now benefit from lower roaming pricing through Vodafone Passport and our European customers are now benefiting from our commitment to reduce roaming prices by 40% compared to summer 2005. We expect roaming revenues to be lower year on year in 2008 due to the combined effect of Vodafone’s own initiatives and direct regulatory intervention.

 

During the year, we began implementing the core cost reduction programmes we developed last year. We have successfully outsourced IT application development and maintenance to EDS and IBM and are well on track to deliver the expected unit cost savings. We also made faster than expected progress on data centre consolidation in Europe and completed the centralisation of network supply chain management in April 2007. In addition, we are seeking to reduce the longer term cost of ownership of our networks through network sharing arrangements and have announced initiatives in Spain and the UK.

 

Innovate and deliver on our customers’ total communications needs

 

There are several key initiatives underway in this area and we expect these to increase in significance throughout the next financial year. Taken together our total communications initiatives are expected to represent an additional 10% of Group revenue in three years.

 

As part of our drive to substitute fixed line usage for mobile, we have launched several fixed location pricing plans offering customers fixed prices when they call from within or around their home or office. We now have over 3 million Vodafone At Home customers and over 2 million Vodafone Office customers.

 

Complementary to our high speed (HSDPA) mobile broadband offerings, Vodafone is now offering fixed broadband services (DSL) in 5 markets. Various business models exist for the provision of DSL. Whilst we continue to favour the resale approach, in some of our markets it will make more sense to use a mixed approach of wholesale and our own infrastructure.

 

We are also developing products and services to integrate the mobile and PC environments by enhancing our Vodafone live! service and forming partnerships with leading internet players. In the coming months, our customers will be able to experience PC to mobile instant messaging with Yahoo! and Microsoft and use their mobiles to search with Google, participate in mobile auctions via eBay, watch videos through YouTube and use MySpace for social networking. These initiatives are expected to enhance our data revenue, which increased by 30% in the year to £1.4 billion.

 

2


 

Mobile advertising is also a potentially significant future revenue stream for our business. We have signed agreements with Yahoo! in the UK and leading providers in Germany and Italy to enter into this new business through banner and content based advertising.

 

Deliver strong growth in emerging markets

 

Our focus is to build on our strong track record of creating value in emerging markets. We have delivered further strong performances in our existing operations with organic revenue growth of 41% in Egypt, 28% in Romania and 22% in South Africa. Our recent acquisition in Turkey has performed ahead of our business plan at the time of the acquisition with strong year on year revenue growth of around 37% in local currency and better than expected profitability.

 

Gaining control of Hutchison Essar in India significantly increases our presence in emerging markets. With market penetration still around 14% and with a population of over 1.1 billion, India provides a very significant opportunity for future growth. A key priority for the year ahead is to continue the expansion of the network and capture the growth opportunity in the market.

 

Actively manage our portfolio to maximise returns

 

In line with this strategy, we executed a number of transactions during the year. We sold our non-controlling interests in Belgium and Switzerland at attractive valuations, with cash proceeds of £1.3 billion and £1.8 billion respectively. More recently, we increased our exposure to emerging markets with an additional 4.8% interest in Vodafone Egypt and gained control in India for £5.5 billion in May 2007.

 

Align capital structure and shareholder returns policy to strategy

 

In May 2006, we outlined a new capital structure and returns policy consistent with the operational strategy of the business, resulting in a targeted annual 60% payout of adjusted earnings per share in the form of dividends. We also moved to a low Single A credit rating and, having returned over £19 billion to shareholders excluding dividends for the two previous financial years, including a £9 billion one-off return in August 2006, we have no current plans for further share purchases or one-time returns.

 

The Board remains committed to its existing policy of distributing 60% of adjusted earnings per share by way of dividend. However, in recognition of the earnings dilution arising from the Hutchison Essar acquisition, it has decided that it will target modest increases in dividend per share in the near term until the payout ratio returns to 60%.

 

Prospects for the year ahead

 

We expect market conditions to remain challenging for the year ahead in Europe, notwithstanding continued positive operating trends in data revenue and voice usage. Overall growth prospects for the EMAPA region remain strong due to increasing market penetration and are further enhanced by the recent acquisition in India.

 

Against this background, Group revenue is expected to be in the range of £33.3 billion to £34.1 billion, with adjusted operating profit in the range of £9.3 billion to £9.8 billion. Capital expenditure on fixed assets is anticipated to be in the range of £4.7 billion to £5.1 billion, including in excess of £1.0 billion in India. Free cash flow is expected to be £4.0 billion to £4.5 billion, after taking into account £0.6 billion of payments related to long standing tax issues, a net cash outflow of £0.8 billion in respect of India and a £0.5 billion outflow from items rolling over from 2007.

 

Summary

 

We are well placed to continue executing our strategy in the year ahead to deliver the core benefits of mobility to our customers and to generate superior returns for our shareholders.

 

 

Arun Sarin

 

3


 

GROUP FINANCIAL AND OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

 

 

 

 

 

2007

 

2006

 

Change %

Continuing operations(1):

 

Page

 

£m

 

£m

 

Reported

 

Organic

 

Financial information

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue

 

7

 

31,104

 

29,350

 

6.0

 

4.3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating loss

 

7

 

(1,564

)

(14,084

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss before taxation

 

23

 

(2,383

)

(14,853

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss for the financial year

 

23

 

(4,806

)

(17,233

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic loss per share (pence)

 

23

 

(8.94)p

 

(27.66)p

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capitalised fixed asset additions

 

 

 

4,208

 

4,005

 

5.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net cash flow from operating activities

 

20

 

10,193

 

10,190

 

 

 

 

 

Performance reporting(2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Group EBITDA

 

7

 

11,960

 

11,766

 

1.6

 

0.2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted operating profit

 

7

 

9,531

 

9,399

 

1.4

 

4.2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted profit before tax

 

9

 

8,747

 

8,793

 

(0.5

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted effective tax rate

 

9

 

30.5%

 

30.4%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted profit for the year attributable to equity shareholders

 

9

 

6,211

 

6,328

 

(1.8

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted basic earnings per share (pence)

 

9

 

11.26p

 

10.11p

 

11.4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Free cash flow

 

20

 

6,127

 

6,418

 

(4.5

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net debt at 31 March

 

20

 

15,049

 

17,318

 

(13.1

)

 

 

 

Operational

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mobile voice usage (billion minutes)(3)(4)(5)

 

37

 

245.0

 

177.3

 

38.2

 

20.5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Data revenue (£m)

 

7

 

1,428

 

1,098

 

30.1

 

30.7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mobile non-voice service revenue as a % of mobile service revenue(6)

 

 

 

18.3%

 

17.0%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3G registered devices (million)(3)(4)(5)

 

33

 

15.9

 

7.9

 

101.3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vodafone Mobile Connect data card – registered devices (million)(3)(4)

 

 

 

1.4

 

0.7

 

100.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vodafone live! - active devices (million)(3)(4)

 

33

 

32.3

 

27.1

 

19.2

 

 

 

 

 

This results announcement contains certain information on the Group’s results and cash flows that has been derived from amounts calculated in accordance with IFRS but are not themselves IFRS measures. They should not be viewed in isolation as alternatives to the equivalent IFRS measure and should be read in conjunction with the equivalent IFRS measure. Further disclosures are provided under “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information” on page 30.

 

 

 

See page 30 for definition of terms.

Notes:

(1)     Excluding the results of the discontinued operations in Japan. The results of the Group’s disposed associated undertakings in Belgium and Switzerland are included until the date of the announcement of disposal.

(2)     Where applicable, these measures are stated excluding non-operating income of associates, impairment losses and other income and expense, changes in the fair value of equity put rights and similar arrangements and certain foreign exchange differences.

(3)     Cumulative number at 31 March.

(4)     Figures represent 100% of subsidiary information and a pro-rata share in joint ventures.

(5)     Prior year amounts have been adjusted. See Key Performance Indicator section beginning on page 32 for further details.

(6)     Service revenue from the mobile telecommunications businesses excludes fixed line operators and DSL revenue and other service revenue.

 

4


 

GROUP PROPORTIONATE INFORMATION

 

 

2007

 

 

2006

 

 

Change %

 

 

£m

 

 

£m

 

 

£

 

Organic

 

Financial information

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Europe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Germany

 

5,443

 

 

5,754

 

 

(5.4

)

 

 

- Italy

 

4,245

 

 

4,363

 

 

(2.7

)

 

 

- Spain

 

4,500

 

 

3,995

 

 

12.6

 

 

 

- UK

 

5,124

 

 

5,048

 

 

1.5

 

 

 

- Arcor

 

1,061

 

 

972

 

 

9.2

 

 

 

- Other Europe

 

4,309

 

 

4,735

 

 

(9.0

)

 

 

Less: revenue between Europe operations

 

(451

)

 

(458

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

24,231

 

 

24,409

 

 

(0.7

)

 

 

EMAPA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Subsidiaries and joint ventures

 

6,021

 

 

4,234

 

 

42.2

 

 

 

- Associated undertakings and investments

 

13,338

 

 

12,694

 

 

5.1

 

 

 

Less: revenue between EMAPA operations

 

(35

)

 

(16

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

19,324

 

 

16,912

 

 

14.3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Common functions

 

168

 

 

145

 

 

15.9

 

 

 

Eliminations

 

(110

)

 

(111

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Group – Continuing operations

 

43,613

 

 

41,355

 

 

5.5

 

6.4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mobile operations – Continuing operations

 

42,273

 

 

40,217

 

 

5.1

 

6.3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EBITDA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Europe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Germany

 

2,429

 

 

2,703

 

 

(10.1

)

 

 

- Italy

 

2,149

 

 

2,270

 

 

(5.3

)

 

 

- Spain

 

1,567

 

 

1,373

 

 

14.1

 

 

 

- UK

 

1,459

 

 

1,623

 

 

(10.1

)

 

 

- Arcor

 

197

 

 

169

 

 

16.6

 

 

 

- Other Europe

 

1,533

 

 

1,650

 

 

(7.1

)

 

 

 

 

9,334

 

 

9,788

 

 

(4.6

)

 

 

EMAPA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Subsidiaries and joint ventures

 

2,035

 

 

1,485

 

 

37.0

 

 

 

- Associated undertakings and investments

 

5,201

 

 

4,828

 

 

7.7

 

 

 

 

 

7,236

 

 

6,313

 

 

14.6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Common functions

 

312

 

 

279

 

 

11.8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Group – Continuing operations

 

16,882

 

 

16,380

 

 

3.1

 

4.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mobile operations – Continuing operations

 

16,592

 

 

16,186

 

 

2.5

 

3.8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Percentage

 

Percentage

 

EBITDA margin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Points

 

points

 

Europe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Germany

 

44.6%

 

 

47.0%

 

 

(2.4

)

 

 

- Italy

 

50.6%

 

 

52.0%

 

 

(1.4

)

 

 

- Spain

 

34.8%

 

 

34.4%

 

 

0.4

 

 

 

- UK

 

28.5%

 

 

32.2%

 

 

(3.7

)

 

 

- Arcor

 

18.6%

 

 

17.4%

 

 

1.2

 

 

 

- Other Europe

 

35.6%

 

 

34.8%

 

 

0.8

 

 

 

 

 

38.5%

 

 

40.1%

 

 

(1.6

)

 

 

EMAPA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Subsidiaries and joint ventures

 

33.8%

 

 

35.1%

 

 

(1.3

)

 

 

- Associated undertakings and investments

 

39.0%

 

 

38.0%

 

 

1.0

 

 

 

 

 

37.4%

 

 

37.3%

 

 

0.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Group EBITDA margin  – Continuing operations

 

38.7%

 

 

39.6%

 

 

(0.9

)

(0.8

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mobile operations – Continuing operations

 

39.2%

 

 

40.2%

 

 

(1.0

)

(0.9

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proportionate information is presented and calculated on the basis described on page 27. See page 30 for definition of terms.

 

 

 

 

2007

 

2006

 

Change %

 

 

Million

 

Million

 

Reported

 

Organic

 

Mobile customers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net proportionate customer additions(1)

 

28.2

 

21.5

 

31.2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proportionate customers at 31 March

 

206.4

 

170.6

 

21.0

 

16.5%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note:

(1)

Excludes additions from acquisitions and stake changes and the impact of changes in the application of the disconnection policy. Further analysis provided on page 32.

 

Customers are presented for continuing operations. See page 30 for definition of terms.

 

5


 

OUTLOOK

 

 

2008 financial year
Outlook(1)

 

2007 financial year
Actual performance

 

2007 financial year
Outlook

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue

 

£33.3 to £34.1 billion

 

£31.1 billion

 

n/a

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted operating profit

 

£9.3 to £9.8 billion

 

£9.5 billion

 

n/a

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capitalised fixed asset additions

 

£4.7 to £5.1 billion

 

£4.2 billion

 

£4.2 to £4.6 billion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Free cash flow

 

£4.0 to £4.5 billion

 

£6.1 billion(2)

 

£4.7 to £5.2 billion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Organic proportionate mobile revenue growth(3)

 


n/a

 


6.3%

 

5% to 6.5%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Organic proportionate mobile EBITDA margin(3)

 


n/a

 

0.9 percentage points
lower than 2006 financial
year

 

Around 1 percentage point
lower than 2006 financial
year

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1)

Includes assumption of average foreign exchange rates for the 2008 financial year of approximately Euro 1.47:£1 and US$1.98:£1. A substantial majority of the Group’s revenue, adjusted operating profit, capitalised fixed asset additions and free cash flow is denominated in currencies other than sterling, the Group’s reporting currency.

(2)

The amount for the 2007 financial year includes £0.5 billion benefit from timing differences and the deferral of payments originally expected in the year and is stated after £0.4 billion of tax payments, including associated interest, in respect of a number of long standing tax issues.

(3)

Assumes constant exchange rates and excludes the impact of business acquisitions and disposals for the financial measures and adjusted to reflect like-for-like ownership levels in both years.

 

For the year ending 31 March 2008 (“2008 financial year”)

 

The Group’s outlook statement now reflects only statutory financial measures. Following completion of the Hutchison Essar Limited (“Hutch Essar”) transaction in India on 8 May 2007, its results will be fully consolidated into the Group’s results from that date and are therefore reflected in the outlook measures set out below. The Group’s outlook ranges reflect current expectations for average foreign exchange rates for the 2008 financial year.

 

Operating conditions are expected to continue to be challenging in Europe, with competition remaining intense and ongoing regulatory pressure, notwithstanding continued positive trends in data revenue and voice usage growth. Increasing market penetration continues to result in overall strong growth prospects for the EMAPA region.

 

Group revenue is expected to be in the range of £33.3 billion to £34.1 billion. Adjusted operating profit is expected to be in the range of £9.3 billion to £9.8 billion, with the Group EBITDA margin lower year on year. Total depreciation and amortisation charges are anticipated to be around £5.8 billion to £5.9 billion, higher than the 2007 financial year, primarily as a result of the Hutch Essar acquisition.

 

The Group expects capitalised fixed asset additions to be in the range of £4.7 billion to £5.1 billion, including in excess of £1.0 billion in India.

 

Reported free cash flow is expected to be in the range of £4.0 billion to £4.5 billion. This is after taking into account £0.6 billion of expected tax payments and associated interest in respect of the potential settlement of a number of long standing tax issues, a net cash outflow of approximately £0.8 billion anticipated in respect of India and £0.5 billion from deferred payments and the reversal of certain timing differences that benefited the 2007 financial year. The outlook for free cash flow is stated including the impact of known spectrum or licence payments only.

 

The Group still expects that significant cash tax and associated interest payments may be made in the next two years in respect of long standing tax issues, although the timing of such payments remains uncertain. Within this timeframe, the Group continues to anticipate possible resolution to the application of the UK Controlled Foreign Company legislation to the Group.

 

The adjusted effective tax rate percentage is expected to be in the low 30s, slightly higher than the 2007 financial year and consistent with the Group’s longer term expectations.

 

Revenue stimulation and cost reduction in Europe

 

The Group continues to target delivering benefits equivalent to at least 1% additional revenue market share in the year compared with the 2005 financial year. Capitalised mobile fixed asset additions are expected to be 10% of mobile revenue for the year for the total of the Europe region and common functions.

 

The Group also expects mobile operating expenses to be broadly stable for the total of the Europe region and common functions when compared with the 2006 financial year on an organic basis, excluding the potential impact from developing and delivering new services and from any business restructuring costs.

 

6

 


 

CONTENTS

 

 

Page

Group results

7

Regional results

10

Cash flows and funding

20

Total shareholder returns

21

Significant transactions

21

Subsequent events

22

Financial statements

23

Key performance indicators

32

 

 

 

GROUP RESULTS

 

During the year ended 31 March 2007, the Group changed the organisational structure of its operations.  The following results are presented for continuing operations in accordance with the new organisational structure.  Europe includes the results of the Group’s mobile operations in Western Europe and its fixed line business in Germany, while EMAPA includes the Group’s operations in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia and the Pacific area and the Group’s associates and investments.

 

 

 

Europe(1)

 

EMAPA

 

Common
Functions

 

Eliminations

 

2007

 

2006

 

% change

 

 

 

£m

 

£m

 

£m

 

£m

 

£m

 

£m

 

£

 

Organic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Voice revenue

 

17,357

 

5,089

 

 

(70

)

22,376

 

21,405

 

 

 

 

 

Messaging revenue(2)

 

2,925

 

667

 

 

(5

)

3,587

 

3,289

 

 

 

 

 

Data revenue(2)

 

1,300

 

138

 

 

(10

)

1,428

 

1,098

 

 

 

 

 

Fixed line operators and DSL revenue

 

1,397

 

75

 

 

 

1,472

 

1,290

 

 

 

 

 

Other service revenue

 

8

 

 

 

 

8

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total service revenue

 

22,987

 

5,969

 

 

(85

)

28,871

 

27,082

 

6.6

 

4.7

 

Acquisition revenue

 

1,004

 

381

 

 

 

1,385

 

1,295

 

 

 

 

 

Retention revenue

 

354

 

21

 

 

 

375

 

448

 

 

 

 

 

Other revenue

 

247

 

70

 

168

 

(12

)

473

 

525

 

 

 

 

 

Total revenue

 

24,592

 

6,441

 

168

 

(97

)

31,104

 

29,350

 

6.0

 

4.3

 

Interconnect costs

 

(3,668

)

(1,045

)

 

85

 

(4,628

)

(4,463

)

 

 

 

 

Other direct costs

 

(1,914

)

(784

)

(66

)

3

 

(2,761

)

(2,096

)

 

 

 

 

Acquisition costs

 

(2,604

)

(677

)

 

 

(3,281

)

(2,968

)

 

 

 

 

Retention costs

 

(1,543

)

(212

)

 

 

(1,755

)

(1,891

)

 

 

 

 

Operating expenses

 

(5,462

)

(1,472

)

206

 

9

 

(6,719

)

(6,166

)

 

 

 

 

EBITDA

 

9,401

 

2,251

 

308

 

 

11,960

 

11,766

 

1.6

 

0.2

 

Acquired intangibles amortisation

 

(22

)

(392

)

 

 

(414

)

(157

)

 

 

 

 

Purchased licence amortisation

 

(849

)

(43

)

 

 

(892

)

(947

)

 

 

 

 

Depreciation and other amortisation

 

(2,888

)

(779

)

(181

)

 

(3,848

)

(3,674

)

 

 

 

 

Share of result in associates

 

5

 

2,719

 

1

 

 

2,725

 

2,411

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted operating profit

 

5,647

 

3,756

 

128

 

 

9,531

 

9,399

 

1.4

 

4.2

 

Adjustments for:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Non-operating income of associates

 

 

3

 

 

 

3

 

17

 

 

 

 

 

- Impairment losses

 

(11,600

)

 

 

 

(11,600

)

(23,515

)

 

 

 

 

- Other income and expense

 

1

 

508

 

(7

)

 

502

 

15

 

 

 

 

 

Operating loss

 

(5,952

)

4,267

 

121

 

 

(1,564

)

(14,084

)

 

 

 

 

 

Notes:

(1)  Within the Europe region, certain revenue and costs relating to Arcor have been reclassified. All prior periods have been adjusted accordingly. The reclassification had no effect on total revenue, EBITDA or adjusted operating profit.

(2)  Certain revenue relating to content delivered by SMS and MMS has been reclassified from messaging revenue to data revenue to provide a fairer presentation of messaging and data revenue.

 

Revenue

 

Revenue increased by 6.0% to £31,104 million in the year to 31 March 2007, with organic growth of 4.3%. The net impact of acquisitions and disposals contributed 3.3 percentage points to revenue growth, offset by unfavourable movements in exchange rates of 1.6 percentage points, with both effects arising principally in the EMAPA region.

 

The Europe region recorded organic revenue growth of 1.4%, whilst the EMAPA region delivered organic revenue growth of 21.1%. As a result, the EMAPA region accounted for more than 70% of the organic growth in Group revenue.  Strong performances were recorded in Spain and a number of the Group’s emerging markets.

 

An increase in the average mobile customer base and usage stimulation initiatives resulted in organic revenue growth of 2.5% and 7.0% in voice and messaging revenue, respectively.  Data revenue is an increasingly important component of Group revenue, with organic growth of 30.7%, driven by increasing penetration from 3G devices and growth in revenue from business services.

 

7


 

Operating result

 

Adjusted operating profit increased by 1.4% to £9,531 million, with organic growth of 4.2%.  The net impact of acquisitions and disposals and unfavourable exchange rate movements reduced reported growth by 0.3 percentage points and 2.5 percentage points, respectively, with both effects arising principally in the EMAPA region. The Europe region declined 4.7% on an organic basis, whilst the EMAPA region recorded organic growth of 24.3%.  Strong performances were delivered in Spain, the US and a number of emerging markets.

 

Group EBITDA was £11,960 million (2006: £11,766 million) and is stated after charges in relation to regulatory fines in Greece of £53 million and restructuring costs within common functions, Vodafone Germany, Vodafone UK and Other Europe of £79 million.  The EMAPA region accounted for all of the Group’s reported and organic growth in EBITDA.

 

Certain of the Group’s cost reduction and revenue stimulation initiatives are managed centrally within common functions.  Consequently, operating and capital expenses are incurred centrally and recharged to the relevant countries, primarily in Europe. This typically results in higher operating expenses with a corresponding reduction in depreciation for the countries concerned.

 

Europe’s EBITDA margin declined to 38.2% (2006: 39.8%), reflecting the increase in other direct costs and operating expenses, the latter primarily driven by the establishment of central data centres, which results in a corresponding reduction in depreciation and amortisation for the Europe region.

 

The EBITDA margin fell by 1.5 percentage points in the EMAPA region to 34.9%, principally due to the lower margin of the recently acquired Telsim business in Turkey. 

 

The acquisitions and stake increases led to the rise in acquired intangible asset amortisation, and these acquisitions, combined with the continued expansion of network infrastructure in the region, resulted in higher depreciation charges.

 

The Group’s share of results from associates increased by 13.0% mainly due to Verizon Wireless, which reported record growth in net additions and increased ARPU.  The growth in Verizon Wireless was offset by a reduction in the Group’s share of results from its other associated undertakings, which fell due to the disposals of Belgacom Mobile SA and Swisscom Mobile AG as well as the impact of reductions in termination rates and intense competition experienced by SFR in France.

 

Statutory operating loss was £1,564 million compared with a loss of £14,084 million in the previous financial year following lower impairment charges. In the year ended 31 March 2007, the Group recorded an impairment charge of £11,600 million (2006: £23,515 million) in relation to the carrying value of goodwill in the Group’s operations in Germany (£6,700 million) and Italy (£4,900 million).  The impairment in Germany resulted from an increase in long term interest rates, which led to higher discount rates along with increased price competition and continued regulatory pressures in the German market.  The impairment in Italy resulted from an increase in long term interest rates and the estimated impact of legislation cancelling the fixed fees for the top up of prepaid cards and the related competitive response in the Italian market.  The increase in interest rates accounted for £3,700 million of the reduction in value during the year.

 

Other income and expense for the year ended 31 March 2007 included the gains on disposal of Proximus and Swisscom Mobile, amounting to £441 million and £68 million, respectively.

 

Investment income and financing costs

 

 

 

2007
£m

 

 

2006
£m

 

Investment income

 

789

 

 

353

 

Financing costs

 

(1,612

)

 

(1,120

)

 

 

(823

)

 

(767

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Analysed as:

 

 

 

 

 

 

-  Net financing costs before dividends from investments(1)

 

(435

)

 

(318

)

-  Potential interest charges arising on settlement of outstanding tax issues

 

(406

)

 

(329

)

-  Dividends from investments

 

57

 

 

41

 

 

 

(784

)

 

(606

)

-  Foreign exchange(2)

 

(41

)

 

-

 

-  Changes in fair value of equity put rights and similar arrangements

 

2

 

 

(161

)

 

 

(823

)

 

(767

)

 

Notes:

(1)  Includes a one off gain of £86 million related to the Group renegotiating its investments in SoftBank.

(2)  Comprises foreign exchange differences reflected in the income statement in relation to certain intercompany balances and the foreign exchange differences on financial instruments received as consideration in the disposal of Vodafone Japan to SoftBank, which completed in April 2006.

 

Net financing costs before dividends from investments increased by 36.8% to £435 million as increased financing costs, reflecting higher average debt and interest rates, and losses on mark to market adjustments on financial instruments, more than offset higher investment income resulting from new investments in SoftBank, which arose on the sale of Vodafone Japan during the year, including an £86 million gain related to the renegotiation of these investments.  At 31 March 2007, the provision for potential interest charges arising on settlement of outstanding tax issues was £1,213 million.

 

8


 

Taxation

 

 

 

2007
£m

 

 

2006
£m

 

Income tax expense:

 

 

 

 

 

 

- United Kingdom

 

(79

)

 

598

 

- Overseas

 

2,502

 

 

1,782

 

 

 

2,423

 

 

2,380

 

Share of associated undertakings’ tax

 

398

 

 

443

 

Tax on adjustments to derive adjusted profit before tax

 

(13

)

 

-

 

Adjusted income tax expense

 

2,808

 

 

2,823

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss before tax

 

(2,383

)

 

(14,853

)

Adjustments to derive adjusted profit before tax(1)

 

11,130

 

 

23,646

 

Adjusted profit before tax

 

8,747

 

 

8,793

 

Share of associated undertakings’ tax and minority interest

 

459

 

 

495

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted profit before tax for the purpose of calculating adjusted effective tax rate

 

9,206

 

 

9,288

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted effective tax rate

 

30.5%

 

 

30.4%

 

 

Note:

(1)  See loss per share from continuing operations

 

The adjusted effective tax rate for the year to 31 March 2007 was 30.5% compared to 30.4% for the prior year.  The rate is lower than the Group’s weighted average tax rate due to the resolution of a number of historic tax issues with tax authorities and additional tax deductions in Italy.  The prior year benefited from the tax treatment of a share repurchase in Vodafone Italy and favourable tax settlements.

 

A significant event in the year was a European Court decision in respect of the UK Controlled Foreign Company (“CFC”) legislation, following which Vodafone has not accrued any additional provision in respect of the application of UK CFC legislation to the Group.

 

The adjusted effective tax rate percentage for the year ending 31 March 2008 is expected to be in the low 30s.

 

Loss per share from continuing operations

 

Adjusted earnings per share increased by 11.4% from 10.11 pence to 11.26 pence for the year to 31 March 2007.  Basic loss per share decreased from 27.66 pence to 8.94 pence for the year to 31 March 2007.

 

 

 

2007
£m

 

 

2006
£m

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss for the financial year attributable to equity shareholders

 

(5,426

)

 

(21,916

)

Loss from discontinued operations attributable to equity shareholders(1)

 

494

 

 

4,598

 

Loss from continuing operations

 

(4,932

)

 

(17,318

)

Adjustments:

 

 

 

 

 

 

-  Impairment losses

 

11,600

 

 

23,515

 

-  Other income and expense

 

(502

)

 

(15

)

-  Share of associated undertakings’ non-operating income

 

(3

)

 

(17

)

-  Non-operating income and expense

 

(4

)

 

2

 

-  Changes in the fair value of equity put rights and similar arrangements

 

(2

)

 

161

 

-  Foreign exchange(2)

 

41

 

 

-

 

 

 

11,130

 

 

23,646

 

-  Tax on the above items

 

13

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted profit from continuing operations

 

6,211

 

 

6,328

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted average number of shares outstanding – basic and diluted(3)

 

55,144

 

 

62,607

 

 

Notes:

(1)  On 27 April 2006, the Group completed the sale of its 97.7% interest in Vodafone Japan to SoftBank.  The Group’s operations in Japan are presented as discontinued operations.

(2)  See note 2 in investment income and financing costs.

(3)  In the year ended 31 March 2007, 215 million (2006: 183 million) shares have been excluded from the calculation of diluted loss per share as they are not dilutive.

 

9


 

REGIONAL RESULTS

Europe

 

 

 

Germany

 

Italy

 

Spain

 

UK

 

Arcor

 

Other

 

Eliminations

 

Europe

 

% change

 

 

 

£m

 

£m

 

£m

 

£m

 

£m

 

£m

 

£m

 

£m

 

£

 

Organic

 

Year ended 31 March 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Voice revenue

 

3,995

 

3,329

 

3,435

 

3,621

 

 

3,320

 

(343

)

17,357

 

(2.6

)

 

 

Messaging revenue

 

746

 

563

 

380

 

760

 

 

501

 

(25

)

2,925

 

3.1

 

 

 

Data revenue

 

413

 

189

 

247

 

295

 

 

194

 

(38

)

1,300

 

27.1

 

 

 

Fixed line operator and DSL revenue

 

1

 

 

 

 

1,419

 

3

 

(26

)

1,397

 

9.9

 

 

 

Other service revenue

 

1

 

2

 

 

5

 

 

 

 

8

 

 

 

 

 

Total service revenue

 

5,156

 

4,083

 

4,062

 

4,681

 

1,419

 

4,018

 

(432

)

22,987

 

0.1

 

2.0

 

Acquisition revenue

 

172

 

124

 

307

 

274

 

22

 

108

 

(3

)

1,004

 

(1.4

)

 

 

Retention revenue

 

40

 

36

 

124

 

52

 

 

102

 

 

354

 

(18.4

)

 

 

Other revenue

 

75

 

2

 

7

 

117

 

 

47

 

(1

)

247

 

(23.8

)

 

 

Total revenue

 

5,443

 

4,245

 

4,500

 

5,124

 

1,441

 

4,275

 

(436

)

24,592

 

(0.6

)

1.4

 

Interconnect costs

 

(645

)

(628

)

(675

)

(1,001

)

(338

)

(813

)

432

 

(3,668

)

(1.9

)

 

 

Other direct costs

 

(332

)

(242

)

(352

)

(452

)

(262

)

(275

)

1

 

(1,914

)

14.9

 

 

 

Acquisition costs

 

(560

)

(249

)

(642

)

(677

)

(178

)

(301

)

3

 

(2,604

)

4.1

 

 

 

Retention costs

 

(351

)

(107

)

(398

)

(372

)

 

(315

)

 

(1,543

)

(11.9

)

 

 

Operating expenses

 

(1,126

)

(870

)

(866

)

(1,163

)

(396

)

(1,041

)

 

(5,462

)

4.2

 

 

 

EBITDA

 

2,429

 

2,149

 

1,567

 

1,459

 

267

 

1,530

 

 

9,401

 

(4.4

)

(3.4

)

Acquired intangibles amortisation

 

 

 

 

(11

)

 

(11

)

 

(22

)

 

 

 

 

Purchased licence amortisation

 

(340

)

(75

)

(37

)

(333

)

 

(64

)

 

(849

)

 

 

 

 

Depreciation and other amortisation

 

(735

)

(499

)

(430

)

(604

)

(96

)

(524

)

 

(2,888

)

 

 

 

 

Share of result in associates

 

 

 

 

 

 

5

 

 

5

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted operating profit

 

1,354

 

1,575

 

1,100

 

511

 

171

 

936

 

 

5,647

 

(5.1

)

(4.7

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EBITDA margin

 

44.6%

 

50.6%

 

34.8%

 

28.5%

 

18.5%

 

35.8%

 

 

 

38.2%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year ended 31 March 2006

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Voice revenue

 

4,304

 

3,472

 

3,093

 

3,642

 

 

3,672

 

(356

)

17,827

 

 

 

 

 

Messaging revenue

 

815

 

526

 

328

 

674

 

 

507

 

(14

)

2,836

 

 

 

 

 

Data revenue

 

275

 

172

 

194

 

252

 

 

170

 

(40

)

1,023

 

 

 

 

 

Fixed line operator and DSL revenue

 

 

 

 

 

1,305

 

 

(34

)

1,271

 

 

 

 

 

Total service revenue

 

5,394

 

4,170

 

3,615

 

4,568

 

1,305

 

4,349

 

(444

)

22,957

 

 

 

 

 

Acquisition revenue

 

185

 

94

 

269

 

285

 

15

 

170

 

 

1,018

 

 

 

 

 

Retention revenue

 

61

 

84

 

105

 

60

 

 

124

 

 

434

 

 

 

 

 

Other revenue

 

114

 

15

 

6

 

135

 

 

54

 

 

324

 

 

 

 

 

Total revenue

 

5,754

 

4,363

 

3,995

 

5,048

 

1,320

 

4,697

 

(444

)

24,733

 

 

 

 

 

Interconnect costs

 

(732

)

(681

)

(634

)

(862

)

(368

)

(906

)

444

 

(3,739

)

 

 

 

 

Other direct costs

 

(281

)

(241

)

(329

)

(355

)

(187

)

(273

)

 

(1,666

)

 

 

 

 

Acquisition costs

 

(551

)

(172

)

(543

)

(665

)

(147

)

(423

)

 

(2,501

)

 

 

 

 

Retention costs

 

(410

)

(177

)

(354

)

(455

)

 

(356

)

 

(1,752

)

 

 

 

 

Operating expenses

 

(1,077

)

(822

)

(762

)

(1,088

)

(390

)

(1,104

)

 

(5,243

)

 

 

 

 

EBITDA

 

2,703

 

2,270

 

1,373

 

1,623

 

228

 

1,635

 

 

9,832

 

 

 

 

 

Acquired intangibles amortisation

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2

)

 

(2

)

 

 

 

 

Purchased licence amortisation

 

(342

)

(74

)

(69

)

(333

)

 

(66

)

 

(884

)

 

 

 

 

Depreciation and other amortisation

 

(865

)

(524

)

(336

)

(592

)

(89

)

(594

)

 

(3,000

)

 

 

 

 

Share of result in associates

 

 

 

 

 

 

5

 

 

5

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted operating profit

 

1,496

 

1,672

 

968

 

698

 

139

 

978

 

 

5,951

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EBITDA margin

 

47.0%

 

52.0%

 

34.4%

 

32.2%

 

17.3%

 

34.8%

 

 

 

39.8%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Change at constant exchange rates

 

%

 

%

 

%

 

%

 

%

 

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Voice revenue

 

(6.7

)

(3.6

)

11.8

 

(0.6

)

 

(9.2

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Messaging revenue

 

(7.8

)

7.6

 

16.8

 

12.8

 

 

(0.6

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Data revenue

 

51.2

 

10.8

 

27.5

 

17.1

 

 

15.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fixed line operator and DSL revenue

 

 

 

 

 

9.5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total service revenue

 

(3.9

)

(1.5

)

13.1

 

2.5

 

9.5

 

(7.2

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acquisition revenue

 

(6.4

)

33.1

 

14.5

 

(3.9

)

45.7

 

(35.7

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retention revenue

 

(34.1

)

(57.2

)

18.8

 

(13.3

)

 

(17.2

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other revenue

 

(33.5

)

(89.8

)

22.5

 

(13.3

)

 

(15.7

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total revenue

 

(4.8

)

(2.2

)

13.3

 

1.5

 

9.8

 

(8.6

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interconnect costs

 

(11.4

)

(7.2

)

7.0

 

16.1

 

(7.6

)

(9.7

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other direct costs

 

18.9

 

0.8

 

7.6

 

27.3

 

41.6

 

1.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acquisition costs

 

2.2

 

46.1

 

18.8

 

1.8

 

21.3

 

(28.6

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retention costs

 

(13.8

)

(39.3

)

13.1

 

(18.2

)

 

(11.2

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating expenses

 

5.1

 

6.6

 

14.2

 

6.9

 

2.3

 

(5.5

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EBITDA

 

(9.6

)

(4.9

)

15.0

 

(10.1

)

17.2

 

(5.9

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acquired intangibles amortisation

 

 

 

 

 

 

423.8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purchased licence amortisation

 

 

1.5

 

(45.4

)

 

 

(3.5

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Depreciation and other amortisation

 

(14.4

)

(4.5

)

28.9

 

2.0

 

6.8

 

(11.2

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share of result in associates

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted operating profit

 

(9.0

)

(5.3

)

14.4

 

(26.8

)

24.0

 

(3.7

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EBITDA margin movement (pps)

 

(2.4

)

(1.5

)

0.5

 

(3.7

)

1.1

 

1.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10


 

 

 

Germany

 

Italy

 

Spain

 

UK

 

Other

 

Europe

 

Mobile telecommunication KPIs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Closing customers (‘000)

- 2007

 

30,818

 

21,034

 

14,893

 

17,411

 

17,007

 

101,163

 

 

- 2006

 

29,191

 

18,490

 

13,521

 

16,304

 

15,692

 

93,198

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Average monthly ARPU

- 2007

 

€21.2

 

€25.9

 

€35.2

 

£23.6

 

£20.1

 

 

 

 

- 2006

 

€23.3

 

€28.5

 

€35.6

 

£24.0

 

£22.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annualised blended churn (%)

- 2007

 

21.8%

 

20.6%

 

26.4%

 

33.8%

 

26.6%

 

 

 

 

- 2006

 

20.2%

 

18.7%

 

20.9%

 

32.1%

 

24.2%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Closing 3G devices (‘000)

- 2007

 

3,720

 

3,762

 

2,890

 

1,938

 

2,353

 

14,663

 

 

- 2006

 

2,025

 

2,250

 

902

 

1,033

 

1,230

 

7,440

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Voice usage (millions of minutes)

- 2007

 

33,473

 

32,432

 

30,414

 

31,736

 

28,491

 

156,546

 

 

- 2006

 

26,787

 

29,604

 

23,835

 

28,059

 

27,648

 

135,933

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See page 30 for definition of terms

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Europe region, where market penetration exceeds 100%, continues to experience intense competition from established mobile operators and new market entrants as well as ongoing regulator imposed rate reductions on incoming calls.  As part of the implementation of the Group’s strategy, the current year’s performance saw a strong focus on stimulating additional usage in a way that enhances value to the customer and revenue, including significant tariff repositioning to maintain competitiveness in the UK and Germany.  On the cost side, the centralisation of global service platform operations was completed in the year, with good progress made in the consolidation and harmonisation of the data centres, and a number of new initiatives to reduce the cost structure were implemented.

 

Revenue

 

Total revenue decreased slightly by 0.6% for the year ended 31 March 2007, consisting of a 1.4% organic increase in revenue, offset by a 0.5 percentage point adverse impact from exchange rate movements and a 1.5 percentage point decrease resulting from the disposal of the Group’s operations in Sweden in January 2006.  The organic revenue growth was mainly due to the increase in organic service revenue.

 

Service revenue growth was 0.1% for the Europe region.  Organic growth of 2.0% was driven by a 7.7% increase in the average mobile customer base in the year, together with a 17.0% increase in total voice usage and 27.1% reported growth in data revenue, driven by innovative products and services, successful promotions and competitive tariffs in the marketplace, although in turn organic growth was largely offset by the downward pressure on voice pricing and termination rate cuts in certain markets.  The estimated impact of termination rate cuts and other adjustments on the growth in service revenue and total revenue in the year is shown below.

 

 

 

Reported
growth
%

 

Impact of
exchange rates
Percentage points

 

Impact of disposal
Percentage points

 

Estimated impact
of termination rate
cuts and other
adjustments
(1) on
revenue growth
Percentage points

 

Growth excluding
these items
%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Service revenue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Germany

 

(4.4

)

0.5

 

-

 

3.4

 

(0.5

)

Italy

 

(2.1

)

0.6

 

-

 

5.1

 

3.6

 

Spain

 

12.4

 

0.7

 

-

 

5.2

 

18.3

 

UK

 

2.5

 

-

 

-

 

0.5

 

3.0

 

Arcor

 

8.7

 

0.8

 

-

 

-

 

9.5

 

Other Europe

 

(7.6

)

0.4

 

7.3

 

4.7

 

4.8

 

Europe

 

0.1

 

0.5

 

1.4

 

3.5

 

5.5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total revenue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Europe

 

(0.6

)

0.5

 

1.5

 

3.2

 

4.6

 

 

Note:

(1)  Revenue for certain arrangements is now presented net of associated direct costs.

 

Customer growth in the region was strong in most markets, including 21.7% and 16.9% growth in the closing contract customer base in Spain and Italy, respectively. The UK reported a 7.7% growth in the closing contract base following a much improved performance in the second half of the year.  Contract churn across the region was stable or falling in most markets due to the continued focus on retention and longer contract terms being offered, whilst prepaid churn rose due to intensified competition and customer self-upgrades.  Prepaid markets remained vibrant, with prepaid net additions accounting for around 65% of the total net additions reported for the region.

 

Within the Europe region, Spain and Arcor contributed strong service revenue growth, partly offset by declines in Germany, Italy and Other Europe. In Spain, despite the increasing challenge in the marketplace from existing competitors, the launch of a fourth operator and branded resellers, local currency service revenue growth of 13.1% was achieved.  This growth

 

11


 

was mainly due to a 14.2% increase in the average mobile customer base in the period following successful promotions and competitive tariffs, particularly in relation to contract customers, which now account for 54.8% of the customer base, compared to 49.6% last year.  Arcor also achieved strong growth in service revenue compared to the prior year, driven primarily by a 60.0% increase in DSL customers to 2,081,000 customers, with the launch of new competitive tariffs leading to particularly good growth since January 2007.  Despite high competition and structural price declines, service revenue growth in the UK accelerated throughout the year, driven by a higher contract customer base and increased usage resulting from refreshed tariff offerings.  In Other Europe, reported service revenue decreased by 7.6%, whilst underlying service revenue increased by 4.8% following an increase in the average mobile customer base, and particularly strong growth in messaging and data revenue in the Netherlands and Portugal where new tariffs and Vodafone Mobile Connect data card initiatives proved particularly successful.

 

Germany and Italy reported declines in local currency service revenue of 3.9% and 1.5% respectively, largely as a result of termination rate cuts.  Underlying service revenue in Italy grew by 3.6%, with acceleration in the second half of the year due in particular to increasing messaging and voice volumes, achieved through new tariffs and offers targeted to specific segments, and despite the revenue loss incurred in March 2007 following the Italian Government’s decision to eliminate the top up fee on prepaid cards.  In Germany, underlying service revenue declined slightly as a result of the intensely competitive market in Germany and the launch of new tariffs in October 2006.

 

Voice revenue

 

Voice revenue decreased by 2.6%, or by 0.7% on an organic basis, with strong growth in voice usage offset by pressures on pricing resulting from competition and from termination rate cuts.

 

Across the Europe region, outgoing voice minutes increased by 20.7%, or by 22.3% on an organic basis, driven by the increased customer base and various usage stimulation initiatives and competitive tariff ranges.  In Germany, outgoing voice usage increased by 35.7%, with continued success from the Vodafone Zuhause product, which promotes fixed to mobile substitution in the home and which achieved 2.4 million registered customers as at 31 March 2007.  Additionally, new tariffs were launched in Germany in October 2006, which provided improved value bundles for customers allowing unlimited calls to other Vodafone customers and fixed line customers, all of which significantly contributed to increasing outgoing voice usage. In Italy, the increase in outgoing voice usage of 12.1% was mainly driven by demand stimulation initiatives such as fixed price per call offers and focus on high value customers and business customers. In Spain, the improved customer mix and success of both consumer and business offerings assisted in increasing outgoing voice usage by 34.2%.  New and more competitive tariffs launched in the UK in July 2006 and September 2006 and various promotions specifically aimed at encouraging usage contributed to the 16.7% increase in Vodafone UK’s outgoing voice usage.

 

Offsetting the organic growth in outgoing voice usage was the impact of pricing pressures in all markets due to increased competition, which has led to outgoing voice revenue per minute decreasing by 16.8% in the year ended 31 March 2007.

 

Termination rate cuts were the main factor in the 7.4% decline in organic incoming voice revenue, with all markets except the UK experiencing termination rate cuts during the year. Announced termination rate cuts since 30 September 2006 include a cut of 7% to 11.35 eurocents per minute in Spain effective from October 2006 and a 20% cut to 8.8 eurocents per minute in Germany effective from November 2006. The impact of the termination rate cuts in the Europe region was to reduce the average effective incoming price per minute by around 13% to approximately 7 pence.  Further termination rate cuts of 0.87 eurocents every six months will occur in Spain with effect from April 2007, reducing the rate to 7.0 eurocents by April 2009, whilst in Italy reductions in July 2007 and July 2008 of 13% below the retail price index have also been announced.

 

The success of Vodafone Passport, a competitively priced roaming proposition with over 11 million customers as at 31 March 2007, contributed to increasing the volume of organic roaming minutes by 15.8%.  Around 50% of the Group’s roaming minutes within Europe are now on Vodafone Passport.  Organic roaming revenue increased by 1.2% as the higher usage was largely offset by price reductions, due to increasing adoption of Vodafone Passport and also the Group’s commitment to reduce the average cost of roaming in the EU by 40% by April 2007 when compared to summer 2005.

 

On 23 May 2007, the European Parliament voted to introduce regulation on retail and wholesale roaming prices.  We expect roaming revenues to be lower year on year in 2008 due to the combined effect of Vodafone’s own initiatives and this direct regulatory intervention.

 

Non-voice revenue

 

Messaging revenue increased by 3.1%, or by 4.6% on an organic basis, mainly due to growth in Italy, Other Europe and particularly Spain and the UK, partly offset by declines in Germany.  In Spain, the increase was driven by the larger customer base, while in the UK, SMS volumes increased by 25.0% following higher usage per customer. The growth in Italy was driven by an increase in SMS usage of 9.5%, with sharp acceleration in the second half of the year following successful demand stimulation initiatives. In Germany, messaging volumes declined, resulting from the attraction of bigger voice bundles and the fact that promotional activity that had occurred relating to messaging in the previous financial year was not repeated in the 2007 financial year.

 

Data revenue grew by 27.1%, or by 29.5% on an organic basis, with the growth being stimulated by the 97.1% increase in registered 3G enabled devices on the Group’s networks as at 31 March 2007, encouraged by an expanded portfolio and competitively priced offerings. Strong growth was experienced in all Europe’s segments, though Germany demonstrated

 

12


 

particularly strong growth of 50% as a result of attractive tariff offerings, including flat rate tariff options, and the benefit of improved coverage of the HSDPA technology enabled network, facilitating superior download speeds for data services. Growth in Italy, Spain and the UK has been assisted by the roll-out of HSDPA network coverage and increased penetration of Vodafone Mobile Connect data cards, of which 74%, 64% and 53% were sold during the year as HSDPA enabled devices in each of these markets respectively.  The launch of a modem which provides wireless internet access for personal computers has also made a positive contribution to data revenue.  In Other Europe, successful Vodafone Mobile Connect data cards initiatives in the Netherlands and Portugal were the primary cause of growth in data revenue.

 

Fixed line operator and DSL revenue increased by 9.9%, due to Arcor’s increased customer base.

 

Adjusted operating profit

 

Adjusted operating profit fell by 5.1%, or by 4.7% on an organic basis, with the disposal of the Group’s operations in Sweden being the main difference. The EBITDA margin decreased by 1.6 percentage points, or by 1.9 percentage points on an organic basis, mainly a result of the growth in operating expenses and other direct costs, including the charge in relation to a regulatory fine in Greece of £53 million.

 

Interconnect costs remained stable for the year, once the effect of the disposal of Sweden was excluded, with the increased outgoing call volumes to other networks offset by the cost benefit from the impact of the termination rate cuts.

 

Reported acquisition and retention costs for the region decreased by 2.5%, but remained stable on an organic basis, when compared to the prior year.  In Spain, the main drivers of the increased costs were the higher volumes of gross additions and upgrades, especially with regard to the higher proportion of contract gross additions which are being achieved with higher costs per customer as competition has intensified.  In Italy, costs have increased slightly due to an increased focus on acquiring high value contract customers and an increased volume of prepaid customers.  In Germany, retention costs declined as the cost per upgrade was reduced and volumes slightly decreased.  The UK saw a reduction in retention costs resulting from a change in the underlying commercial model with indirect distribution partners, where a portion of commissions are now recognised in other direct costs.  Acquisition costs in Other Europe decreased, primarily as a result of lower gross contract additions in Greece and a reduction in cost per gross addition in the Netherlands.

 

Other direct costs increased by 14.9%, or by 16.7% on an organic basis, primarily caused by the regulatory fine in Greece and commissions in the UK discussed above.  Arcor saw an increase in direct access charges primarily as a result of having a higher customer base.

 

Operating expenses increased by 4.2%, or by 7.4% on an organic basis, primarily caused by increased intercompany recharges, a result of the centralisation of data centre and service platform operations, which were offset by a corresponding reduction in depreciation expense, and a 14.2% increase in local currency in Spain’s operating expenses as a result of the growth in this operating company, but which only slightly increased as a percentage of service revenue.  Increased publicity spend in the UK, Italy and Greece, and restructuring costs in Germany, the UK and Ireland, also adversely affected operating expenses during the year.

 

As many of the cost reduction initiatives are centralised in common functions, as described earlier, the Group’s target in respect of operating expenses for the total of the Europe region (excluding Arcor) includes common functions but excludes the developing and delivering of new services and business restructuring costs. On this basis, these costs grew by 3.5% in the 2007 financial year for the reasons outlined in the preceding paragraph.

 

Cost reduction initiatives

 

The Group has set targets in respect of operating expenses and capitalised fixed asset additions.  The operating expense and capitalised fixed asset additions targets relate to the Europe region (excluding Arcor) and common functions in aggregate.  The targets are detailed in the Outlook on page 6.  During the 2007 financial year, the implementation of a range of Group wide initiatives and cost saving programmes commenced, designed to deliver savings in the 2008 financial year and beyond.  The key initiatives are as follows:

 

    The application development and maintenance initiative is focusing on driving cost and productivity efficiencies through outsourcing the application development and maintenance for key IT systems. In October 2006, the Group announced that EDS and IBM had been selected to provide application development and maintenance services to separate groupings of operating companies within the Group. The initiative is currently in the execution phase and is progressing ahead of plan, with a number of operating companies already having commenced service with their respective vendors.  The Group currently anticipates that this initiative will result in greater economies of scale and improved quality of software produced, as well as greater flexibility, leading to the faster rollout of more varied services to customers.  The Group currently expects to meet its savings target of 25-30% of IT application development and maintenance unit costs within two to four years.

 

    The supply chain management initiative focuses on centralising supply chain management activities and leveraging Vodafone’s scale in purchasing activities.  Through the standardisation of designs and driving scale strategies in material categories, the Group is aiming to increase the proportion of purchasing performed globally.  The alignment of all objectives and targets across the entire supply chain management was completed during the year.  The Group currently expects to meet its savings target of 8% of £3.3 billion external network spend this coming year, as planned.

 

    The IT operations initiative has created a shared service organisation to support the business with innovative and customer focused IT services.  This organisation will consolidate localised data centres into regionalised northern and

 

13


 

southern European centres and consolidate hardware, software, maintenance and system integration suppliers to provide high quality IT infrastructure, services and solutions.  Consolidation is progressing well, with the centre in Southern Europe complete and the centre in Northern Europe expected to be complete by April 2008. The Group currently expects to meet its cost savings target of 25-30% of data centre spend within one to two years.

 

    The Group has commenced a three year business transformation programme to implement a single integrated operating model, supported by a single enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) system covering human resources, finance and supply chain functions.  The programme is expected to provide improved information for decision making and reduced operating costs in the longer term, though additional investment, including restructuring expenditure, will be required.

 

    The network team continues to focus on network sharing deals in a number of operating companies, with the principal objectives of cost saving and faster network rollout.  Implementation is under way in Spain with Orange, the UK has announced its intention to sign a deal with Orange and other deals are being explored and evaluated in a number of other European operating companies.

 

    Many of the Group’s operating companies have participated in external cost benchmarking studies and are using the results to target local cost reductions.  Initiatives that have been implemented to date include reductions to planned network rollout, outsourcing and off-shoring of customer services operations, property rationalisation, replacing leased lines with owned transmission, network site sharing and renegotiation of supplier contracts and service agreements.

 

14


 

EMAPA

 

 

 

 

Middle East

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eastern

 

Africa &

 

 

 

 

 

 

Associates

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Europe

 

Asia

 

Pacific

 

 

US

 

Other

 

 

EMAPA

 

 

% change

 

 

 

£m

 

£m

 

£m

 

 

£m

 

£m

 

 

£m

 

 

£

 

Organic

 

Year ended 31 March 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Voice revenue

 

2,051

 

2,096

 

942

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5,089

 

 

40.0

 

 

 

Messaging revenue

 

271

 

142

 

254

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

667

 

 

46.9

 

 

 

Data revenue

 

70

 

26

 

42

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

138

 

 

60.5

 

 

 

Fixed line operator and DSL revenue

 

 

68

 

7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

75

 

 

294.7

 

 

 

Total service revenue

 

2,392

 

2,332

 

1,245

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5,969

 

 

42.3

 

20.4

 

Acquisition revenue

 

53

 

223

 

105

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

381

 

 

37.5

 

 

 

Retention revenue

 

19

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

21

 

 

50.0

 

 

 

Other revenue

 

13

 

10

 

47

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

70

 

 

2.9

 

 

 

Total revenue

 

2,477

 

2,565

 

1,399

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6,441

 

 

41.4

 

21.1

 

Interconnect costs

 

(433

)

(364

)

(248

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1,045

)

 

31.6

 

 

 

Other direct costs

 

(314

)

(246

)

(224

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(784

)

 

77.4

 

 

 

Acquisition costs

 

(219

)

(291

)

(167

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(677

)

 

45.0

 

 

 

Retention costs

 

(78

)

(84

)

(50

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(212

)

 

52.5

 

 

 

Operating expenses

 

(614

)

(509

)

(349

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1,472

)

 

39.8

 

 

 

EBITDA

 

819

 

1,071

 

361

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,251

 

 

35.7

 

20.9

 

Acquired intangibles amortisation

 

(285

)

(105

)

(2

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(392

)

 

152.9

 

 

 

Purchased licence amortisation

 

(19

)

(17

)

(7

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(43

)

 

(31.7

)

 

 

Depreciation and other amortisation

 

(331

)

(255

)

(193

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(779

)

 

29.4

 

 

 

Share of result in associates

 

 

 

 

 

2,077

 

642

 

 

2,719

 

 

13.4

 

 

 

Adjusted operating profit

 

184

 

694

 

159

 

 

2,077

 

642

 

 

3,756

 

 

16.0

 

24.3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EBITDA margin

 

33.1%

 

41.8%

 

25.8%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

34.9%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year ended 31 March 2006

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Voice revenue

 

1,176

 

1,503

 

957

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,636

 

 

 

 

 

 

Messaging revenue

 

146

 

91

 

217

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

454

 

 

 

 

 

 

Data revenue

 

36

 

12

 

38

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

86

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fixed line operator and DSL revenue

 

 

19

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

19

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total service revenue

 

1,358

 

1,625

 

1,212

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4,195

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acquisition revenue

 

54

 

147

 

76

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

277

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retention revenue

 

13

 

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other revenue

 

10

 

12

 

46

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

68

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total revenue

 

1,435

 

1,784

 

1,335

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4,554

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interconnect costs

 

(296

)

(251

)

(247

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(794

)

 

 

 

 

 

Other direct costs

 

(77

)

(159

)

(206

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(442

)

 

 

 

 

 

Acquisition costs

 

(148

)

(198

)

(121

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(467

)

 

 

 

 

 

Retention costs

 

(51

)

(48

)

(40

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(139

)

 

 

 

 

 

Operating expenses

 

(335

)

(359

)

(359

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1,053

)

 

 

 

 

 

EBITDA

 

528

 

769

 

362

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,659

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acquired intangibles amortisation

 

(121

)

(33

)

(1

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(155

)

 

 

 

 

 

Purchased licence amortisation

 

(13

)

(34

)

(16

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(63

)

 

 

 

 

 

Depreciation and other amortisation

 

(218

)

(179

)

(205

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(602

)

 

 

 

 

 

Share of result in associates

 

 

 

 

 

1,732

 

666

 

 

2,398

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted operating profit

 

176

 

523

 

140

 

 

1,732

 

666

 

 

3,237

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EBITDA margin

 

36.8%

 

43.1%

 

27.1%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

36.4%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Change at constant exchange rates

 

%

 

%

 

%

 

 

%

 

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Voice revenue

 

80.3

 

56.7

 

5.3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Messaging revenue

 

88.7

 

74.8

 

25.4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Data revenue

 

100.1

 

142.6

 

17.2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fixed line operator and DSL revenue

 

 

294.3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total service revenue

 

81.7

 

61.2

 

10.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acquisition revenue

 

1.4

 

78.0

 

43.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retention revenue

 

50.0

 

 

217.5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other revenue

 

15.4

 

(7.8

)

12.8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total revenue

 

78.0

 

62.1

 

12.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interconnect costs

 

49.8

 

62.3

 

7.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other direct costs

 

316.4

 

73.2

 

15.8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acquisition costs

 

53.9

 

70.8

 

45.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retention costs

 

59.3

 

106.7

 

31.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating expenses

 

88.4

 

61.0

 

3.4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EBITDA

 

60.6

 

55.5

 

8.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acquired intangibles amortisation

 

135.5

 

222.2

 

78.6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purchased licence amortisation

 

48.0

 

(47.1

)

(49.8

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Depreciation and other amortisation

 

55.9

 

56.1

 

1.6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share of result in associates

 

 

 

 

 

27.6

 

(2.3

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted operating profit

 

12.1

 

49.8

 

25.4

 

 

27.6

 

(2.3

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EBITDA margin movement (pps)

 

(3.6

)

(1.7

)

(0.8

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15


 

 

 

2007

 

 

2006

 

 

 

Eastern
Europe

 

Middle East
Africa & Asia

 

Pacific

 

EMAPA

 

 

Eastern
Europe

 

Middle East
Africa & Asia

 

Pacific

 

EMAPA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KPIs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Closing customers (‘000)

 

28,975

 

27,160

 

5,750

 

61,885

 

 

12,579

 

21,884

 

5,346

 

39,809

 

Average monthly ARPU

 

£8.1

 

£7.3

 

£18.8

 

 

 

 

£10.8

 

£9.0

 

£19.7

 

 

 

Annualised blended churn (%)

 

28.1%

 

38.8%

 

38.7%

 

 

 

 

23.6%

 

34.6%

 

39.2%

 

 

 

3G devices (‘000)

 

347

 

65

 

758

 

1,170

 

 

135

 

 

281

 

416

 

Voice usage (millions of minutes)

 

39,658

 

37,449

 

11,371

 

88,478

 

 

13,302

 

18,300

 

9,811

 

41,413

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See page 30 for definition of terms

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A part of Vodafone’s strategy is to build on the Group’s track record of creating value in emerging markets. Vodafone has continued to execute on this strategy, with strong performances in the Czech Republic, Egypt, Romania and South Africa.

 

The Group is successfully building its emerging markets portfolio through acquisitions in Turkey and, subsequent to the year end, India. Since its acquisition on 24 May 2006, Vodafone Turkey has shown a performance in excess of the acquisition plan. The Group has made a further significant step in delivering its strategic objective of delivering strong growth in emerging markets with the acquisition on 8 May 2007 of companies with interests in Hutch Essar, a leading operator in the fast growing Indian mobile market, following which the Group controls Hutch Essar. The Group also signed a memorandum of understanding with Bharti Airtel Limited (“Bharti Airtel”), the Group’s former joint venture in India, on infrastructure sharing and has granted an option to a Bharti group company to buy its 5.60% direct interest in Bharti Airtel. On 9 May 2007, a Bharti group company agreed to acquire the Group’s 5.60% direct interest in Bharti Airtel (see subsequent events on page 22). Following the completion of this sale, the Group will continue to hold an indirect stake of 4.39% in Bharti Airtel.

 

In December 2006, the Group increased its equity interest in Vodafone Egypt from 50.1% to 54.9%, positioning the Group to capture further growth in this lower penetrated market. The Group also entered into a new strategic partnership with Telecom Egypt, the minority shareholder in Vodafone Egypt, to increase cooperation between both parties and jointly develop a range of products and services for the Egyptian market.

 

EMAPA’s growth has benefited from the prior year acquisitions in the Czech Republic and the stake in Bharti Airtel in India, as well as the stake increases in Romania and South Africa and the current year acquisition in Turkey. Bharti Airtel was accounted for as a joint venture until 11 February 2007, following which it has been accounted for as an investment.

 

Revenue

 

Total revenue increased by 41.4%, or 21.1% on an organic basis, driven by organic service revenue growth of 20.4%. The impact of acquisitions, disposal and exchange rates on EMAPA’s service revenue and total revenue growth is shown below.

 

 

 

Organic
growth
%

 

Impact of
exchange rates
Percentage points

 

Impact of acquisitions
and disposal
(1)
Percentage points

 

Reported
growth
%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Service revenue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eastern Europe

 

20.0

 

(5.6)

 

61.7

 

76.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Middle East, Africa and Asia

 

27.7

 

(17.7)

 

33.5

 

43.5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pacific

 

10.0

 

(7.3)

 

-

 

2.7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EMAPA

 

20.4

 

(10.9)

 

32.8

 

42.3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total revenue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EMAPA

 

21.1

 

(11.2)

 

31.5

 

41.4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note:

(1)   Impact of acquisitions and disposal includes the impact of the change in consolidation status of Bharti Airtel from a joint venture to an investment.

 

Organic service revenue growth was driven by the 30.2% organic increase in the average mobile customer base and the success of usage stimulation initiatives, partially offset by declining ARPU in a number of markets due to the higher proportion of lower usage prepaid customer additions. Particularly strong customer growth was achieved in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, Africa and Asia, where markets are typically less penetrated than in Western Europe or the Pacific area.

 

Non-service revenue increased by 31.5%, or 28.9% on an organic basis, primarily due to an increase in the level of gross additions in a number of countries.

 

Eastern Europe

 

In Eastern Europe, service revenue grew by 76.1%, with the key driver of growth being the acquisitions in the Czech Republic and Turkey, as well as the stake increase in Romania. Good customer growth in all Eastern European markets contributed to the organic service revenue growth.

 

Organic service revenue growth in Eastern Europe was principally driven by Romania. As a result of the growth in the customer base and a promotional offer of lower tariffs, which led to higher voice usage, local currency service revenue in Romania grew by 29.3%, calculated by applying the Group’s current equity interest to the whole of the 2006 financial year.

 

16


 

The continued expansion of 3G network coverage, the successful launch of 3G broadband, together with introductory promotional offers, and increased sales of Vodafone Mobile Connect data cards, resulted in data revenue growth of 64.9% in local currency. In the Czech Republic, a focus on existing customers, including a Christmas campaign of free weekend text messages available to all existing as well as new customers, and the success of a business offering allowing unlimited on and off net calls within a customers’ virtual private network for a fixed monthly fee, had a positive impact on gross additions and drove the increase in average mobile customers. This led to growth of 11.1% in local currency service revenue, calculated by applying the Group’s current equity interest to the whole of the 2006 financial year.

 

Vodafone Turkey has performed ahead of the expectations the Group had at the time of the completion of the acquisition, with customer numbers, usage and adjusted operating profit ahead of plan. Improvements in network reliability and coverage have contributed to strong customer growth and allowed an increase in prepaid tariffs, resulting in service revenue growth. Telsim was rebranded to Vodafone in March 2007, with the launch of a new tariff with inclusive on and off net calls, a first for the Turkish market.

 

Middle East, Africa and Asia

 

The service revenue growth of 43.5% in the Middle East, Africa and Asia resulted primarily from the stake increases in South Africa in February 2006 and Egypt in December 2006, together with the acquisition of the Group’s interest in Bharti Airtel in India in December 2005, offset by an adverse movement in exchange rates. Strong organic growth was achieved in all markets, particularly in Egypt and South Africa, driven by the 40.2% increase in the average mobile customer base compared to the prior year.

 

Strong customer growth, driven by prepaid tariff reductions, the availability of lower cost handsets and high customer satisfaction with the Vodafone service, contributed to the 39.5% local currency service revenue growth in Egypt.

 

Innovative new products and services, including a new hybrid tariff offering guaranteed airtime credit every month with the ability to top up as required, and successful promotions, led to an increase in the average mobile customer base and 21.9% local currency organic service revenue growth in South Africa, whilst the continued rollout of the 3G network led to strong growth in data revenue.

 

Bharti Airtel continued to perform well with strong growth in customers and revenue, demonstrating the growth potential in the Indian market.

 

Pacific

 

Service revenue increased by 2.7%, with the impact of adverse foreign exchange movements reducing reported growth by 7.3 percentage points. In Australia, a continued focus on higher value customers delivered local currency service revenue growth of 13.7%, with improvements in both prepaid and contract ARPU. The performance in Australia more than offset the reduced growth in local currency service revenue in New Zealand, where local currency service revenue growth was 2.6% following a cut in termination rates, which reduced reported service revenue growth by 4.1%. After the negative impact of foreign exchange movements, reported service revenue in New Zealand declined by 7.9%.

 

Adjusted operating profit

 

The impact of acquisitions, disposal and exchange rates on EMAPA’s EBITDA and adjusted operating profit is shown below.

 

 

 

Organic
growth
%

 

Impact of
exchange rates
Percentage points

 

Impact of acquisitions
and disposal
(1)
Percentage points

 

Reported
growth
%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EBITDA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eastern Europe

 

19.7

 

(5.5)

 

40.9

 

55.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Middle East, Africa and Asia

 

27.0

 

(16.0)

 

28.3

 

39.3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pacific

 

8.1

 

(8.4)

 

-

 

(0.3)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EMAPA

 

20.9

 

(11.1)

 

25.9

 

35.7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted operating profit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eastern Europe

 

49.2

 

(7.6)

 

(37.1)

 

4.5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Middle East, Africa and Asia

 

18.5

 

(16.9)

 

31.1

 

32.7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pacific

 

25.4

 

(11.8)

 

-

 

13.6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EMAPA

 

24.3

 

(7.2)

 

(1.1)

 

16.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note:

(1)   Impact of acquisitions and disposal includes the impact of the change in consolidation status of Bharti Airtel from a joint venture to an investment.

 

 

The reported EBITDA margin fell by 1.5 percentage points, principally due to the lower margin of the recently acquired Vodafone Turkey business.

 

Adjusted operating profit increased by 16.0%. On an organic basis growth was 24.3%, as the acquisitions and stake increases led to the rise in acquired intangible asset amortisation reducing reported growth in operating profit. These

 

17


 

acquisitions, combined with the continued expansion of network infrastructure in the region, resulted in higher depreciation charges. Organic growth in adjusted operating profit was driven by a strong performance in Romania, Egypt, South Africa and the Group’s associated undertaking in the US.

 

Eastern Europe

 

The acquisition of operations with lower margins, combined with significant investment in improving network quality, customer care and the introduction of segmented customer propositions in Turkey, led to a 3.7 percentage point decrease in the EBITDA margin in Eastern Europe.

 

Interconnect costs increased by 46.3%, or 23.8% on an organic basis, principally as a result of the higher usage in Romania. An ongoing regulatory fee in Turkey amounting to 15% of revenue has increased other direct costs compared to the 2006 financial year.

 

Acquisition costs fell as a percentage of service revenue throughout most of Eastern Europe, with increased investment in the direct distribution channel in Romania resulting in lower subsidies on handsets. Retention costs decreased as a percentage of service revenue, but increased on an organic basis due to a focus on retaining customers through loyalty programmes in response to the increasing competition in Romania, which had a positive impact on contract and prepaid churn.

 

Operating expenses increased by 1.0 percentage point as a percentage of service revenue, primarily as a result of inflationary pressures in Romania and investment in Turkey.

 

Middle East, Africa and Asia

 

The impact of the acquisitions and adverse exchange rate movements both contributed to the 1.3 percentage point fall in EBITDA margin in Middle East, Africa and Asia.

 

Interconnect costs increased by 45.0%, or 26.8% on an organic basis, due to the usage stimulation initiatives throughout the region.

 

Acquisition costs remained stable as a percentage of service revenue, whilst retention costs increased, principally due to increased investment in retaining customers in Egypt ahead of the forthcoming launch of services by a new operator and in South Africa in response to the introduction of mobile number portability during the year, with the provision of 3G and data enabled device upgrades for contract customers and a loyalty point scheme. Operating expenses remained stable as a percentage of service revenue.

 

Pacific

 

The EBITDA margin in the Pacific area fell 1.3 percentage points, as the improved margin in Australia was more than offset by the lower margin in New Zealand resulting from the increased cost of telecommunications service obligation regulation and the acquisition of ihug which, together with adverse foreign exchange rates, reduced New Zealand’s EBITDA by 13.1%.

 

Acquisition and retention costs increased as a percentage of service revenue due to the investment in higher value customers in Australia, which also had a favourable impact on contract churn, and were partially offset by savings in network costs and operating expenses.

 

Associates

 

 

 

2007

 

 

 

2006

 

 

 

% change

 

 

 

Verizon
Wireless
£m

 

Other
£m

 

Total
£m

 

 

 

Verizon
Wireless
£m

 

Other
£m

 

Total
£m

 

 

 

Verizon
Wireless
£

 

Verizon
Wireless
$

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share of result of associates

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating profit

 

2,442

 

940

 

3,382

 

 

 

2,112

 

1,010

 

3,122

 

 

 

15.6

 

22.9

 

Interest

 

(179

)

(27)

 

(206

)

 

 

(204

)

(23

)

(227

)

 

 

(12.3

)

(7.0

)

Tax

 

(125

)

(271)

 

(396

)

 

 

(116

)

(329

)

(445

)

 

 

7.8

 

14.6

 

Minority interest

 

(61

)

 

(61

)

 

 

(60

)

8

 

(52

)

 

 

1.7

 

6.7

 

 

 

2,077

 

642

 

2,719

 

 

 

1,732

 

666

 

2,398

 

 

 

19.9

 

27.6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Verizon Wireless (100% basis)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total revenue (£m)

 

20,860

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

18,875

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10.5

 

17.4

 

EBITDA margin (%)

 

38.5%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

37.9%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Closing customers (‘000)

 

60,716

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

53,020

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Average monthly ARPU ($)

 

52.5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

51.4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blended churn (%)

 

13.9%

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

14.7%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mobile non-voice service revenue as a percentage of mobile service revenue (%)

 

14.4%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8.9%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Verizon Wireless produced another year of record growth in organic net additions, increasing its customer base by 7.7 million in the year ended 31 March 2007. The performance was particularly robust in the higher value contract segment and was achieved in a market where the estimated closing mobile penetration reached 80%.

 

18


 

The strong customer growth was achieved through a combination of higher gross additions and improvements in Verizon Wireless’s customer loyalty, with the latter evidenced through lower levels of churn. The 15.4% growth in the average mobile customer base combined with a 2.1% increase in ARPU resulted in a 17.8% increase in service revenue. ARPU growth was achieved through the continued success of data services, driven predominantly by data cards, wireless e-mail and messaging services. Verizon Wireless improved its EBITDA margin due to efficiencies in other direct costs and operating expenses, partly offset by a higher level of customer acquisition and retention activity.

 

Verizon Wireless continued to lay the foundations for future data revenue growth through the launch of both CDMA EV-DO Rev A, an enhanced wireless broadband service, and broadcast mobile TV services during the first calendar quarter of 2007. In addition, Verizon Wireless consolidated its spectrum position during the year with the acquisition of spectrum through the FCC’s Advanced Wireless Services auction for $2.8 billion.

 

The Group’s share of the tax attributable to Verizon Wireless for the year ended 31 March 2007 relates only to the corporate entities held by the Verizon Wireless partnership. The tax attributable to the Group’s share of the partnership’s pre-tax profit is included within the Group tax charge.

 

The Group’s other associated undertakings in EMAPA have been impacted by intense competition and reduction in termination rates, similar to the experiences of the Group’s controlled businesses in the Europe region, which have had a negative impact on revenue. The Group disposed of its associated undertakings in Belgium and Switzerland on 3 November 2006 and 20 December 2006, respectively, for a total cash consideration of £3.1 billion. The results of the Group’s disposed associated undertakings in Belgium and Switzerland are included until the respective dates of the announcement of disposal.

 

SFR, the Group’s associated undertaking in France, achieved an increase of 3.5% in its customer base, higher voice usage and strong growth in data services. However, service revenue was stable in local currency as the impact of these items was offset by a 5.7% decline in ARPU due to the increase in competition and significant termination rate cuts imposed by the regulator. The voice termination rate was cut by 24% to 9.5 eurocents per minute with effect from 1 January 2006 and by a further 21% to 7.5 eurocents per minute with effect from 1 January 2007. France is the first European Union country to impose regulation on SMS termination rates, which were cut by 19% with effect from 1 January 2006 and a further 30% with effect from mid September 2006 to 3 eurocents per SMS. SFR’s EBITDA margin improved 1.4 percentage points to 36.7%, primarily as a result of termination rate cuts benefiting interconnect costs.

 

With effect from July 2007, SFR will be governed by the Europe regional management team. Accordingly, for the 2008 financial year onwards SFR will be reported as part of the Europe region.

 

Investments

 

China Mobile, in which the Group has a 3.27% stake and is accounted for as an investment, increased its customer base by 21.3% in the period to 316.1 million. Dividends of £57 million were received by the Group in the 2007 financial year.

 

COMMON FUNCTIONS

 

 

 

2007
£m

 

2006
£m

 

% change

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue

 

168

 

145

 

15.9

 

Other direct costs

 

(66

)

 

 

Operating expenses

 

206

 

130

 

58.5

 

EBITDA

 

308

 

275

 

12.0

 

Depreciation and amortisation

 

(181

)

(72

)

151.4

 

Share of result in associated undertakings

 

1

 

8

 

(87.5

)

Adjusted operating profit

 

128

 

211

 

(39.3

)

 

Common functions represent the results of Partner Markets and the net result of central Group costs less charges to the Group’s operations. Adjusted operating profit has been impacted in the 2007 financial year by restructuring costs incurred in the central functions, principally marketing and technology, which amounted to £36 million.

 

19


 

CASH FLOWS AND FUNDING

 

During the year to 31 March 2007, the Group decreased its net cash inflow from operating activities by 12.8% to £10,328 million and generated £6,119 million of free cash flow, as analysed in the following table:

 

 

 

2007
£m

 

 

2006
£m

 

 

%change

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net cash inflow from operating activities

 

10,328

 

 

11,841

 

 

(12.8

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

– Continuing operations

 

10,193

 

 

10,190

 

 

 

– Discontinued operations

 

135

 

 

1,651

 

 

(91.8

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add: Taxation(1)

 

2,243

 

 

1,682

 

 

33.4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purchase of intangible fixed assets

 

(899

)

 

(690

)

 

30.3

 

Purchase of property, plant and equipment

 

(3,633

)

 

(4,481

)

 

(18.9

)

Disposal of property, plant and equipment

 

34

 

 

26

 

 

30.8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating free cash flow

 

8,073

 

 

8,378

 

 

(3.6

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

– Continuing operations

 

8,081

 

 

7,695

 

 

5.0

 

– Discontinued operations

 

(8

)

 

683

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taxation(1)

 

(2,243

)

 

(1,682

)

 

33.4

 

Dividends received from associated   undertakings (2)

 

791

 

 

835

 

 

(5.3

)

Dividends paid to minority shareholders in subsidiary undertakings

 

(34

)

 

(51

)

 

(33.3

)

Dividends received from investments

 

57

 

 

41

 

 

39.0

 

Interest received

 

526

 

 

319

 

 

64.9

 

Interest paid

 

(1,051

)

 

(721

)

 

45.8

 

Free cash flow

 

6,119

 

 

7,119

 

 

(14.0

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

– Continuing operations

 

6,127

 

 

6,418

 

 

(4.5

)

– Discontinued operations

 

(8

)

 

701

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note:

(1)  Year to 31 March 2007 includes £nil (2006: £(31) million) related to discontinued operations.

(2)  Year to 31 March 2007 includes £450 million (2006: £511 million) from the Group’s interest in SFR and £328 million (2006: £195 million) from the Group’s interest in Verizon Wireless.

 

Free cash flow decreased primarily as a result of lower net cash inflow from operating activities, higher net interest and £0.4 billion of tax payments, including associated interest, in respect of a number of long standing tax issues, partly offset by lower capital expenditure during the year.

 

An analysis of net debt for continuing operations is as follows:

 

 

 

2007
£m

 

 

2006
£m

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents (as presented in the consolidated cash flow statement)

 

7,458

 

 

2,932

 

Bank overdrafts

 

23

 

 

18

 

Cash and cash equivalents for discontinued operations

 

 

 

(161

)

Cash and cash equivalents (as presented in the consolidated balance sheet)

 

7,481

 

 

2,789

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trade and other receivables(1)

 

304

 

 

310

 

Trade and other payables(1)

 

(219

)

 

(219

)

Short-term borrowings

 

(4,817

)

 

(3,448

)

Long-term borrowings

 

(17,798

)

 

(16,750

)

 

 

(22,530

)

 

(20,107

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net debt

 

(15,049

)

 

(17,318

)

Note:

(1)  Mark to market adjustments on financing instruments are included within trade and other receivables and trade and other payables.

 

At 31 March 2007 the Group had £7.5 billion of cash and cash equivalents, with the increase since 31 March 2006 being due to the funding requirements in relation to the completion of the Hutch Essar transaction, which occurred on 8 May 2007. In aggregate, the Group has committed facilities of approximately £7.9 billion, of which £5.8 billion were undrawn at 31 March 2007.

 

The Group targets low single A long term credit ratings from Moody’s, Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s, respectively. Following the acquisition of Hutch Essar, Moody’s downgraded their long-term credit rating for the Group from A3 to Baa1 on 16 May 2007. Credit ratings are not a recommendation to purchase, hold or sell securities, in as much as ratings do not comment on market price or suitability for a particular investor, and are subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating organisation. Each rating should be evaluated independently.

 

20


 

TOTAL SHAREHOLDER RETURNS

 

Dividends

 

The Board remains committed to its existing policy of distributing 60% of adjusted earnings per share by way of dividend. However, in recognition of the earnings dilution arising from the Hutch Essar acquisition, it has decided that it will target modest increases in dividend per share in the near term until the payout ratio returns to 60%.

 

The directors are proposing a final dividend of 4.41 pence per share, representing a 14% increase over last year’s final dividend. This is in line with the previously announced target dividend payout ratio at approximately 60% of adjusted earnings per share.

 

The ex-dividend date is 6 June 2007 for ordinary shareholders, the record date for the final dividend is 8 June 2007 and the dividend is payable on 3 August 2007.

 

Special distribution of £9 billion

 

At an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Company on 25 July 2006, shareholders approved a distribution of approximately £9 billion in the form of a B share arrangement. This equated to 15 pence per B share for each ordinary share in issue at 28 July 2006. Payment in respect of redemption of the B share arrangement was made in August 2006 and February 2007 and all but £20 million of the total amount payable had been settled as at 31 March 2007. During such time that the remaining B shares are outstanding, they will accrue a non-cumulative dividend at the rate of 75% of sterling LIBOR, payable semi-annually in arrears until redemption. The Company has the right to redeem all remaining B shares by 5 August 2008.

 

SIGNIFICANT TRANSACTIONS

 

The Group received a net £6,989 million cash and cash equivalents from acquisition and disposal activities, including the purchase and disposal of investments, in the year to 31 March 2007 and an analysis of the significant transactions and the changes to the Group’s effective interest in the entities is shown below.

 

 

 

£m

 

Acquisitions:

 

 

 

 Telsim Mobil Telekomunikasyon Hizmetleri (from nil to 100% of trade and assets)

 

(2,569

)

 

 

 

 

Disposals:

 

 

 

Vodafone Japan (from 97.7% to nil) (1)

 

6,810

 

Proximus (from 25% to nil)

 

1,343

 

Swisscom Mobile (from 25% to nil)

 

1,776

 

 

 

 

 

Other net acquisitions and disposals, including investments(1)

 

(371

)

 

 

 

 

Total

 

6,989

 

Note:

(1)    Amounts are shown net of cash and cash equivalents acquired or disposed.

 

On 27 April 2006, the Group completed the sale of its entire interest in Vodafone Japan to SoftBank, following which it retains investments in SoftBank in the form of subordinated loans and preference shares.

 

On 24 May 2006, the Group acquired substantially all the assets and business of Telsim Mobil Telekomunikasyon Hizmetleri (“Telsim”) from the Turkish Savings and Deposit Insurance Fund for consideration of US$4.7 billion. In addition to the consideration price, the Group paid US$0.4 billion of VAT in April 2007, which is recoverable against Telsim’s future VAT liabilities. The Group did not acquire Telsim’s liabilities, other than certain minor employee-related liabilities and outstanding service credits to be fulfilled.

 

On 3 November 2006, the Group sold its 25% interest in Belgacom Mobile S.A., the Group’s associated undertaking in Belgium.

 

On 20 December 2006, the Group sold its 25% interest in Swisscom Mobile A.G., the Group’s associated undertaking in Switzerland.

 

21


 

SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

 

On 8 May 2007, the Group completed its acquisition from Hutchison Telecom International Limited’s (“HTIL”) of companies with interests in Hutch Essar. Following this acquisition, Vodafone controls Hutch Essar. Vodafone has paid US$10.9 billion (£5.5 billion) in cash to HTIL, reflecting retention and closing adjustments agreed between Vodafone and HTIL.

 

In conjunction with the acquisition of Hutch Essar, the Group entered into a share sale and purchase agreement with a Bharti group company regarding the Group’s 5.60% direct shareholding in Bharti Airtel. On 9 May 2007, the Bharti group company irrevocably agreed to purchase this shareholding and the Group expects to receive $1.6 billion in cash consideration for such shareholding by November 2008. The shareholding will be transferred in two tranches, the first before 31 March 2008 and the second by November 2008. Following the completion of this sale, the Group will continue to hold an indirect stake of 4.39% in Bharti Airtel.

 

On 23 May 2007, the European Parliament voted to introduce regulation on retail and wholesale roaming prices. The Group expects roaming revenues to be lower year on year in 2008 due to the combined effect of Vodafone’s own initiatives and this direct regulatory intervention.

 

22


CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT

 

 

 

2007
£m

 

 

2006
£m

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue

 

31,104

 

 

29,350

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cost of sales

 

(18,725

)

 

(17,070

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gross profit

 

12,379

 

 

12,280

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selling and distribution expenses

 

(2,136

)

 

(1,876

)

Administrative expenses

 

(3,437

)

 

(3,416

)

Share of result in associated undertakings

 

2,728

 

 

2,428

 

Impairment losses

 

(11,600

)

 

(23,515

)

Other income and expense

 

502

 

 

15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating loss

 

(1,564

)

 

(14,084

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-operating income and expense

 

4

 

 

(2

)

Investment income

 

789

 

 

353

 

Financing costs

 

(1,612

)

 

(1,120

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss before taxation

 

(2,383

)

 

(14,853

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income tax expense

 

(2,423

)

 

(2,380

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss for the financial year from continuing operations

 

(4,806

)

 

(17,233

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss from discontinued operations

 

(491

)

 

(4,588

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss for the financial year

 

(5,297

)

 

(21,821

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Attributable to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

– Equity shareholders

 

(5,426

)

 

(21,916

)

– Minority interests

 

129

 

 

95

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic and diluted loss per share

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss from continuing operations

 

(8.94)p

 

 

(27.66)p

 

Loss from discontinued operations

 

(0.90)p

 

 

(7.35)p

 

Loss for the financial year

 

(9.84)p

 

 

(35.01)p

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted average number of shares for basic and diluted earnings per share (millions)

 

55,144

 

 

62,607

 

 

 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF RECOGNISED INCOME AND EXPENSE

 

 

 

 

2007
£m

 

 

2006
£m

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gains on revaluation of available-for-sale investments

 

2,108

 

 

705

 

Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations

 

(3,804

)

 

1,494

 

Actuarial gains / (losses) on defined benefit pension schemes

 

50

 

 

(30

)

Revaluation gain

 

 

 

112

 

Transfer to the income statement on disposal of foreign operations

 

838

 

 

36

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net (expense)/income recognised directly in equity

 

(808

)

 

2,317

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss for the financial year

 

(5,297

)

 

(21,821

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total recognised income and expense relating to the financial year

 

(6,105

)

 

(19,504

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Attributable to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

– Equity shareholders

 

(6,210

)

 

(19,607

)

– Minority interests

 

105

 

 

103

 

 

23


CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET

 

 

 

2007
£m

 

 

2006
£m

 

Non-current assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goodwill

 

40,567

 

 

52,606

 

Other intangible assets

 

15,705

 

 

16,512

 

Property, plant and equipment

 

13,444

 

 

13,660

 

Investments in associated undertakings

 

20,227

 

 

23,197

 

Other investments

 

5,875

 

 

2,119

 

Deferred tax assets

 

410

 

 

140

 

Post employment benefits

 

82

 

 

19

 

Trade and other receivables

 

494

 

 

361

 

 

 

96,804

 

 

108,614

 

Current assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inventory

 

288

 

 

297

 

Taxation recoverable

 

21

 

 

8

 

Trade and other receivables

 

5,023

 

 

4,438

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

7,481

 

 

2,789

 

 

 

12,813

 

 

7,532

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assets included in disposal group held for resale

 

 

 

10,592

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total assets

 

109,617

 

 

126,738

 

Equity

 

 

 

 

 

 

Called up share capital

 

4,172

 

 

4,165

 

Share premium account

 

43,572

 

 

52,444

 

Own shares held

 

(8,047

)

 

(8,198

)

Additional paid-in capital

 

100,185

 

 

100,152

 

Capital redemption reserve

 

9,132

 

 

128

 

Accumulated other recognised income and expense

 

3,306

 

 

4,090

 

Retained losses

 

(85,253

)

 

(67,356

)

Total equity shareholders’ funds

 

67,067

 

 

85,425

 

Minority interests

 

226

 

 

(113

)

Total equity

 

67,293

 

 

85,312

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-current liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long-term borrowings

 

17,798

 

 

16,750

 

Deferred tax liabilities

 

4,626

 

 

5,670

 

Post employment benefits

 

123

 

 

120

 

Provisions

 

296

 

 

265

 

Other payables

 

535

 

 

566

 

 

 

23,378

 

 

23,371

 

Current liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

Short-term borrowings

 

4,817

 

 

3,448

 

Current taxation liabilities

 

5,088

 

 

4,448

 

Trade payables and other payables

 

8,774

 

 

7,477

 

Provisions

 

267

 

 

139

 

 

 

18,946

 

 

15,512

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities included in disposal group held for resale

 

 

 

2,543

 

Total equity and liabilities

 

109,617

 

 

126,738

 

 

24


CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT

 

 

 

2007
£m

 

 

2006
£m

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net cash flows from operating activities

 

10,328

 

 

11,841

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash flows from investing activities

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purchase of interests in subsidiary undertakings and joint ventures, net of cash acquired

 

(2,805

)

 

(4,186

)

Disposal of interests in subsidiary undertakings, net of cash disposed

 

6,767

 

 

599

 

Disposals of interests in associated undertakings

 

3,119

 

 

 

Purchase of intangible fixed assets

 

(899

)

 

(690

)

Purchase of property, plant and equipment

 

(3,633

)

 

(4,481

)

Disposal of property, plant and equipment

 

34

 

 

26

 

Purchase of investments

 

(172

)

 

(57

)

Disposal of investments

 

80

 

 

1

 

Dividends received from associated undertakings

 

791

 

 

835

 

Dividends received from investments

 

57

 

 

41

 

Interest received

 

526

 

 

319

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net cash flows from investing activities

 

3,865

 

 

(7,593

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash flows from financing activities

 

 

 

 

 

 

Issue of ordinary share capital and reissue of treasury shares

 

193

 

 

356

 

Net movement in short-term borrowings

 

953

 

 

708

 

Proceeds from issue of long-term borrowings

 

5,150

 

 

5,256

 

Repayment of borrowings

 

(1,961

)

 

(1,371

)

Loans repaid to associated undertakings

 

 

 

(47

)

Purchase of treasury shares

 

(43

)

 

(6,457

)

‘B’ share capital redemption

 

(5,713

)

 

 

‘B’ share preference dividends paid

 

(3,291

)

 

 

Equity dividends paid

 

(3,555

)

 

(2,749

)

Dividends paid to minority shareholders in subsidiary undertakings

 

(34

)

 

(51

)

Interest paid

 

(1,051

)

 

(721

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net cash flows from financing activities

 

(9,352

)

 

(5,076

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net cash flows

 

4,841

 

 

(828

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the financial year

 

2,932

 

 

3,726

 

Exchange (loss)/gain on cash and cash equivalents

 

(315

)

 

34

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the financial year

 

7,458

 

 

2,932

 

 

25


 

NOTES TO THE PRELIMINARY RESULTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2007

 

1                 Basis of preparation

 

The preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2007 are an abridged statement of the full Annual Report, which was approved by the Board of Directors on 29 May 2007. The Auditors’ Report on these accounts was unqualified and did not contain statements under section 237(2) or 237(3) of the Companies Act 1985. The preliminary results do not comprise statutory accounts within the meaning of section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. The Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2007 will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies following the Company’s Annual General Meeting, to be held on 24 July 2007.

 

The preliminary results are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”). The preliminary results are also prepared in accordance with IFRS adopted by the European Union (“EU”), the Companies Act 1985 and Article 4 of the EU IAS Regulations, and on a historical basis, except for certain financial and equity instruments that have been measured at fair value. However, the financial information included in this preliminary announcement does not itself contain sufficient information to comply with IFRS. The company will publish full financial statements that comply with IFRS in June 2007.

 

The preparation of the preliminary results requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the balance sheet date, and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could vary from these estimates. The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods.

 

2                 Dividends

 

 

 

 

2007
£m

 

 

2006
£m

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equity dividends on ordinary shares:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Declared during the financial year:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2006: 3.87 pence per share (2005: 2.16 pence per share)

 

2,328

 

 

1,386

 

Interim dividend for the year ended 31 March 2007: 2.35 pence per share (2006: 2.20 pence per share)

 

1,238

 

 

1,367

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,566

 

 

2,753

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proposed but not recognised as a liability:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2007: 4.41 pence per share (2006: 3.87 pence per share)

 

2,331

 

 

2,328

 

 

 

26


UNAUDITED PROPORTIONATE FINANCIAL INFORMATION

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2007

 

Basis of preparation

 

The tables of financial information below are presented on a proportionate basis from continuing operations. Proportionate presentation is not a measure recognised under IFRS and is not intended to replace the full year results prepared in accordance with IFRS. However, since significant entities in which the Group has an interest are not consolidated, proportionate information is provided as supplemental data to facilitate a more detailed understanding and assessment of the full year results prepared in accordance with IFRS.

 

IFRS requires consolidation of entities which the Group has the power to control and allows either proportionate consolidation or equity accounting for joint ventures. IFRS also requires equity accounting for interests in which the Group has significant influence but not a controlling interest.

 

The proportionate presentation, below, is a pro rata consolidation, which reflects the Group’s share of revenue and expenses in entities, both consolidated and unconsolidated, in which the Group has an ownership interest. Proportionate results are calculated by multiplying the Group’s percentage equity ownership interest in each entity by each entity’s results.

 

Proportionate presentation of financial information differs in material respects to the proportionate consolidation adopted by the Group under IFRS for its joint ventures.

 

Proportionate information includes results from the Group’s equity accounted investments and other investments. The Group may not have control over the revenue, expenses or cash flows of these investments and may only be entitled to cash from dividends received from these entities.

 

Group proportionate revenue is stated net of intercompany revenue. Proportionate EBITDA represents the Group’s ownership interests in the respective entities’ EBITDA. As such, proportionate EBITDA does not represent EBITDA available to the Group.

 

In order to simplify its financial reporting and improve understanding of its results, the Group will be moving to a single basis of statutory reporting and will no longer provide proportionate financial information with effect from the 2008 financial year.

 

Reconciliation of proportionate revenue to statutory revenue

 

 

 

2007
£m

 

2006
£m

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proportionate revenue

 

43,613

 

 

41,355

 

Minority share of revenue in subsidiary undertakings

 

829

 

 

666

 

Group share of revenue in associated undertakings and trade investments

 

(13,338)

 

 

(12,671)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue

 

31,104

 

 

29,350

 

 

Reconciliation of proportionate EBITDA to operating loss for the financial year

 

 

 

2007
£m

 

2006
£m

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proportionate EBITDA

 

16,882

 

 

16,380

 

Minority share of EBITDA in subsidiary undertakings

 

279

 

 

224

 

Group’s share of EBITDA in associated undertakings and other investments

 

(5,201

)

 

(4,838

)

Group EBITDA

 

11,960

 

 

11,766

 

Charges for depreciation and amortisation

 

(5,111

)

 

(4,709

)

Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment

 

(43

)

 

(69

)

Share of results in associated undertakings

 

2,728

 

 

2,428

 

Impairment losses

 

(11,600

)

 

(23,515

)

Other income and expense

 

502

 

 

15

 

Operating loss

 

(1,564

)

 

(14,084

)

 

27


 

OTHER INFORMATION

 

1)        Copies of this document are available from the Company’s registered office:

 

Vodafone House
The Connection
Newbury
Berkshire
RG14 2FN

 

2)        These preliminary results will be available on the Vodafone Group Plc website, www.vodafone.com, from 29 May 2007.

 

For further information:

 

Vodafone Group

 

Investor Relations

 

Media Relations

Telephone: +44 (0) 1635 664447

 

Telephone: +44 (0) 1635 664444

 

 

 

High resolution photographs are available to the media free of charge at www.newscast.co.uk.

 

Video interviews with Arun Sarin, Chief Executive, and Andy Halford, Chief Financial Officer, are available from midday on www.vodafone.com and www.cantos.com. Also available in audio and transcript.

 

Vodafone, Vodafone At Home, Vodafone Office, Vodafone live!, Vodafone Mobile Connect, Vodafone Passport and the Vodafone logos are trademarks of the Vodafone Group. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

 

28


 

FORWARD–LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

This document contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to the Group’s financial condition, results of operations and businesses and certain of the Group’s plans and objectives.

 

In particular, such forward-looking statements include statements with respect to Vodafone’s expectations as to launch and roll-out dates for products, services or technologies offered by Vodafone; intentions regarding the development of products and services introduced by Vodafone or by Vodafone in conjunction with initiatives with third parties, including Yahoo! and Microsoft; the ability to integrate all operations throughout the Group; the development and impact of new mobile technology; expected savings from cost reduction initiatives, including the IT AD&M programme, supply chain centralisation, data centre consolidation, network sharing and enterprise resource planning initiatives; growth in customers and usage, including growth in emerging markets; the Group’s expectations for revenue, adjusted operating profit, capitalised fixed asset additions and free cash flow for the 2008 financial year contained within the outlook statement on page 6 of this document, and expectations for the Group’s future performance generally, including, average revenue per user (“ARPU”), costs, capital expenditure, operating expenditure and margins; the rate of dividend growth by the Group or its existing investments; expectations regarding the Group’s access to adequate funding for its working capital requirements; expected effective tax rates and expected tax payments; stimulation initiatives in Europe; future acquisitions and future disposals; the benefits of acquisitions, including the Hutch Essar acquisition; contractual obligations; mobile penetration and coverage rates; the impact of regulatory and legal proceedings involving Vodafone; expectations with respect to long-term shareholder value growth; Vodafone’s ability to be a market leader in providing voice and data communications; overall market trends and other trend projections.

 

Forward-looking statements are sometimes, but not always, identified by their use of a date in the future or such words as “anticipates”, “aims”, “could”, “may”, “should”, “expects”, “believes”, “intends”, “plans” or “targets”. By their nature, forward-looking statements are inherently predictive, speculative and involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following: changes in economic or political conditions in markets served by operations of the Group that would adversely affect the level of demand for mobile services; greater than anticipated competitive activity, from both existing competitors and new market entrants, including Mobile Virtual Network Operators (“MVNOs”), which could require changes to the Group’s pricing models, lead to customer churn and make it more difficult to acquire new customers, and reduce profitability; the impact of investment in network capacity and the deployment of new technologies, or the rapid obsolescence of existing technology; slower than expected customer growth and reduced customer retention; changes in the spending patterns of new and existing customers; the possibility that new products and services will not be commercially accepted or perform according to expectations or that vendors’ performance in marketing these technologies will not meet the Group’s requirements; a lower than expected impact of new or existing products, services or technologies on the Group’s future revenue, cost structure and capital expenditure outlays; the ability of the Group to harmonise mobile platforms and other new or existing products, services or technologies in new markets; the ability of the Group to offer new services and secure the timely delivery of high-quality, reliable network equipment and other key products from suppliers; the Group’s ability to develop competitive data content and services that will attract new customers and increase average usage; future revenue contributions of both voice and non-voice services; greater than anticipated prices of new mobile handsets; changes in the costs to the Group of or the rates the Group may charge for terminations and roaming minutes; the Group’s ability to achieve meaningful cost savings and revenue improvements as a result of its cost saving initiatives and revenue stimulation activities in Europe; the ability to realise benefits from entering into partnerships for developing data and internet services and entering into service franchising and brand licensing; the possibility that the pursuit of new, unexpected strategic opportunities may have a negative impact on the Group’s financial performance; developments in the Group’s financial condition, earnings and distributable funds and other factors that the Board of Directors takes into account in determining the level of dividends; any unfavourable conditions, regulatory or otherwise, imposed in connection with pending or future acquisitions or dispositions and the integration of acquired companies in the Group’s existing operations; the risk that, upon obtaining control of certain investments, the Group discovers additional information relating to the businesses of that investment leading to restructuring charges or write-offs or with other negative implications; changes in the regulatory framework in which the Group operates, including possible action by regulators in markets in which the Group operates or by the EU regulating rates the Group is permitted to charge; the impact of legal or other proceedings against the Group or other companies in the mobile telecommunications industry; the possibility that new marketing or usage stimulation campaigns or efforts and customer retention schemes are not an effective expenditure; the possibility that the Group’s integration efforts do not reduce the time to market for new products or improve the Group’s cost position; loss of suppliers or disruption of supply chains; the Group’s ability to satisfy working capital requirements through borrowing in capital markets, bank facilities and operations; changes in exchange rates, including particularly the exchange rate of pounds sterling to the euro and the US dollar; changes in statutory tax rates and profit mix which would impact the weighted average tax rate; changes in tax legislation in the jurisdictions in which the Group operates; and final resolution of open issues which might impact the effective tax rate; timing of tax payments relating to the resolution of open issues.

 

Furthermore, a review of the reasons why actual results and developments may differ materially from the expectations disclosed or implied within forward-looking statements can be found under “Risk Factors, Trends and Outlook – Risk Factors” in Vodafone Group Plc’s Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2006. All subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or any member of the Group or any persons acting on their behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the factors referred to above. No assurances can be given that the forward-looking statements in this document will be realised. Neither Vodafone nor any of its affiliates intends to update these forward-looking statements.

 

29


 

USE OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 

In presenting and discussing the Group’s reported financial position, operating results and cash flows, certain information is derived from amounts calculated in accordance with IFRS but this information is not itself an expressly permitted GAAP measure. Such non-GAAP measures should not be viewed in isolation as alternatives to the equivalent GAAP measure.

 

A summary of certain non-GAAP measures included in this results announcement, together with details where additional information and reconciliation to the nearest equivalent GAAP measure can be found, is shown below.

 

Non-GAAP measure

Equivalent GAAP measure

Location in this results announcement of
reconciliation and further information

Group EBITDA

Operating loss

Unaudited proportionate financial information on page 27

 

 

 

Adjusted operating profit

Operating loss

Group results on page 7

 

 

 

Adjusted profit before tax

Loss before tax

Group results on page 9

 

 

 

Adjusted profit from continuing operations

Loss for the financial year

Group results on page 9

 

 

 

Adjusted earnings per share

Loss per share

Group results on page 9

 

 

 

Operating free cash flow

Net cash flows from operating activities

Cash flows and funding on page 20

 

 

 

Free cash flow

Net cash flows from operating activities

Cash flows and funding on page 20

 

 

 

Net debt

Borrowings

Cash flows and funding on page 20

 

 

 

Proportionate revenue

Revenue

Unaudited proportionate financial information on page 27

 

 

 

Proportionate EBITDA

Operating loss

Unaudited proportionate financial information on page 27

 

 

 

Adjusted effective tax rate

Tax on profit as a percentage of profit before taxation

Group results on page 9

 

DEFINITION OF TERMS

 

For definition of terms please refer to page 41 of the Interim Results announcement for the six months ended 30 September 2006.

 

30

 


REGIONAL ANALYSIS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH

 

 

 

Revenue

 

 

EBITDA

 

 

Adjusted operating profit

 

 

Capitalised fixed asset additions

 

 

Free cash flow(1)

 

 

 

2007

 

 

2006

 

 

2007

 

 

2006

 

 

2007

 

 

2006

 

 

2007

 

2006

 

 

2007

 

2006

 

 

 

£m

 

 

£m

 

 

£m

 

 

£m

 

 

£m

 

 

£m

 

 

£m

 

£m

 

 

£m

 

£m

 

EUROPE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Germany

 

5,443

 

 

5,754

 

 

2,429

 

 

2,703

 

 

1,354

 

 

1,496

 

 

425

 

592

 

 

1,971

 

2,167

 

Italy(2)

 

4,245

 

 

4,363

 

 

2,149

 

 

2,270

 

 

1,575

 

 

1,672

 

 

421

 

541

 

 

1,823

 

1,808

 

Spain

 

4,500

 

 

3,995

 

 

1,567

 

 

1,373

 

 

1,100

 

 

968

 

 

547

 

502

 

 

1,091

 

958

 

UK

 

5,124

 

 

5,048

 

 

1,459

 

 

1,623

 

 

511

 

 

698

 

 

661

 

665

 

 

794

 

942

 

Arcor

 

1,441

 

 

1,320

 

 

267

 

 

228

 

 

171

 

 

139

 

 

189

 

129

 

 

71

 

56

 

Greece

 

1,202

 

 

1,233

 

 

416

 

 

470

 

 

243

 

 

317

 

 

110

 

108

 

 

269

 

336

 

Netherlands

 

1,137

 

 

1,174

 

 

357

 

 

369

 

 

208

 

 

219

 

 

163

 

124

 

 

254

 

224

 

Portugal

 

926

 

 

899

 

 

323

 

 

286

 

 

195

 

 

163

 

 

120

 

115

 

 

225

 

153

 

Other

 

1,020

 

 

1,400

 

 

434

 

 

510

 

 

290

 

 

279

 

 

96

 

164

 

 

329

 

310

 

Intra-region revenue

 

(446

)

 

(453

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Europe

 

24,592

 

 

24,733

 

 

9,401

 

 

9,832

 

 

5,647

 

 

5,951

 

 

2,732

 

2,940

 

 

6,827

 

6,954

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EMAPA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Romania(3)

 

722

 

 

533

 

 

340

 

 

254

 

 

129

 

 

88

 

 

134

 

104

 

 

250

 

159

 

Turkey(4)

 

698

 

 

 

 

151

 

 

 

 

(68

)

 

 

 

143

 

 

 

102

 

 

Egypt

 

741

 

 

555

 

 

391

 

 

307

 

 

295

 

 

212

 

 

192

 

167

 

 

(2

)

190

 

South Africa(2)

 

1,478

 

 

1,070

 

 

532

 

 

388

 

 

327

 

 

271

 

 

221

 

202

 

 

324

 

178

 

Pacific

 

1,399

 

 

1,335

 

 

361

 

 

362

 

 

159

 

 

140

 

 

251

 

247

 

 

167

 

112

 

Other subsidiaries

 

802

 

 

675

 

 

242

 

 

195

 

 

72

 

 

42

 

 

120

 

132

 

 

116

 

61

 

Other joint ventures(2)

 

601

 

 

387

 

 

234

 

 

153

 

 

123

 

 

86

 

 

199

 

101

 

 

66

 

60

 

United States

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,077

 

 

1,732

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other Associates

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

642

 

 

666

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Intra-region revenue

 

 

 

(1

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total EMAPA

 

6,441

 

 

4,554

 

 

2,251

 

 

1,659

 

 

3,756

 

 

3,237

 

 

1,260

 

953

 

 

1,023

 

760

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Common functions

 

168

 

 

145

 

 

308

 

 

275

 

 

128

 

 

211

 

 

216

 

112

 

 

231

 

(19

)

Inter-region revenue

 

(97

)

 

(82

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Group

 

31,104

 

 

29,350

 

 

11,960

 

 

11,766

 

 

9,531

 

 

9,399

 

 

4,208

 

4,005

 

 

8,081

 

7,695

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net interest paid

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(468

)

(349

)

Tax paid

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2,243

)

(1,712

)

Dividends received and other

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

757

 

784

 

Free cash flow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 – Continuing operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6,127

 

6,418

 

 – Discontinued operations(5)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(8

)

701

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6,119

 

7,119

 

 

Notes:

(1)             For the Group’s operating companies and common functions, the cash flows presented reflect operating free cash flow.

(2)             The results of joint ventures have been included using proportionate consolidation.

(3)             Includes periods in the 2006 financial year where accounted for as a joint venture.

(4)             Presents the results from 24 May 2006, being the date of acquisition.

(5)             Discontinued operations represent Vodafone Japan.

See page 30 for use of non-GAAP financial information and for definition of terms.

 

31


 

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUSINESSES

PROPORTIONATE MOBILE CUSTOMERS – 1 APRIL 2006 TO 31 MARCH 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

NINE MONTHS TO 31 DECEMBER 2006

 

 

QUARTER TO 31 MARCH 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COUNTRY

 

PERCENTAGE
OWNERSHIP
(1)

 

AT 1 APR
2006

 

NET
ADDITIONS

 

OTHER
MOVEMENTS
(2)

 

AT 31 DEC
2006

 

NET
ADDITIONS

 

OTHER
MOVEMENTS
(2)

 

AT 31
MAR 2007

 

PREPAID(3)

 

 

 

 

 

(‘000s)

 

(‘000s)

 

(‘000s)

 

(‘000s)

 

(‘000s)

 

(‘000s)

 

(‘000s)

 

(%)

 

Europe:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Germany

 

100.0%

 

29,191

 

1,140

 

291

 

30,622

 

196

 

-

 

30,818

 

54.4%

 

Italy

 

76.9%

 

18,490

 

1,639

 

-

 

20,129

 

905

 

-

 

21,034

 

92.0%

 

Spain

 

100.0%

 

13,521

 

1,527

 

(584)

 

14,464

 

429

 

-

 

14,893

 

45.2%

 

UK

 

100.0%

 

16,304

 

635

 

-

 

16,939

 

472

 

-

 

17,411

 

60.7%

 

 

 

 

 

77,506

 

4,941

 

(293)

 

82,154

 

2,002

 

-

 

84,156

 

65.5%

 

Albania

 

99.9%

 

772

 

147

 

-

 

919

 

36

 

-

 

955

 

96.6%

 

Greece

 

99.9%

 

4,471

 

481

 

3

 

4,955

 

96

 

-

 

5,051

 

69.2%

 

Ireland

 

100.0%

 

2,075

 

103

 

-

 

2,178

 

(1)

 

-

 

2,177

 

73.3%

 

Malta

 

100.0%

 

175

 

13

 

-

 

188

 

(2)

 

-

 

186

 

89.6%

 

Netherlands

 

100.0%

 

3,909

 

51

 

(143)

 

3,817

 

63

 

-

 

3,880

 

45.3%

 

Portugal

 

100.0%

 

4,276

 

487

 

(145)

 

4,618

 

133

 

-

 

4,751

 

79.0%

 

 

 

 

 

15,678

 

1,282

 

(285)

 

16,675

 

325

 

-

 

17,000

 

68.8%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Europe

 

 

 

93,184

 

6,223

 

(578)

 

98,829

 

2,327

 

-

 

101,156

 

66.0%

 

EMAPA:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eastern Europe:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Czech Republic

 

100.0%

 

2,214

 

199

 

-

 

2,413

 

62

 

-

 

2,475

 

47.5%

 

Romania

 

100.0%

 

6,384

 

1,333

 

-

 

7,717

 

237

 

-

 

7,954

 

66.2%

 

Hungary

 

100.0%

 

2,063

 

71

 

-

 

2,134

 

29

 

-

 

2,163

 

61.1%

 

Turkey

 

100.0%

 

-

 

1,818

 

10,930

 

12,748

 

1,152

 

-

 

13,900

 

90.1%

 

Poland

 

19.6%

 

1,918

 

437

 

-

 

2,355

 

128

 

-

 

2,483

 

59.8%

 

 

 

 

 

12,579

 

3,858

 

10,930

 

27,367

 

1,608

 

-

 

28,975

 

71.2%

 

Middle East, Africa & Asia:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Egypt

 

54.9%

 

3,314

 

1,062

 

403

 

4,779

 

520

 

-

 

5,299

 

93.8%

 

Kenya

 

35.0%

 

1,380

 

487

 

-

 

1,867

 

262

 

-

 

2,129

 

98.5%

 

South Africa(4)

 

50.0%

 

10,968

 

3,211

 

(1,191)

 

12,988

 

847

 

-

 

13,835

 

89.4%

 

India

 

 

 

1,958

 

1,239

 

-

 

3,197

 

347

 

(3,544)

 

-

 

-

 

 

 

 

 

17,620

 

5,999

 

(788)

 

22,831

 

1,976

 

(3,544)

 

21,263

 

91.5%

 

Pacific:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Australia

 

100.0%

 

3,177

 

126

 

(25)

 

3,278

 

89

 

-

 

3,367

 

73.6%

 

New Zealand

 

100.0%

 

2,068

 

132

 

-

 

2,200

 

44

 

-

 

2,244

 

75.8%

 

Fiji

 

49.0%

 

101

 

34

 

-

 

135

 

4

 

-

 

139

 

95.3%

 

 

 

 

 

5,346

 

292

 

(25)

 

5,613

 

137

 

-

 

5,750

 

75.4%

 

Associates and Investments:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

United States

 

45.0%

 

23,530

 

2,696

 

4

 

26,230

 

735

 

357

 

27,322

 

5.6%

 

Other

 

 

 

18,312

 

1,639

 

(2,237)

 

17,714

 

669

 

3,544

 

21,927

 

78.3%

 

Total

 

 

 

41,842

 

4,335

 

(2,233)

 

43,944

 

1,404

 

3,901

 

49,249

 

68.0%

 

Total EMAPA

 

 

 

77,387

 

14,484

 

7,884

 

99,755

 

5,125

 

357

 

105,237

 

70.4%

 

Total

 

 

 

170,571

 

20,707

 

7,306

 

198,584

 

7,452

 

357

 

206,393

 

69.7%

 

 

 

Notes:

(1)             All ownership percentages are stated as at 31 March 2007 and exclude options, warrants or other rights or obligations of the Group to increase or decrease ownership in any venture. Ownership interests have been rounded to the nearest tenth of one percent.

(2)             Other movements includes acquisitions of interests in operating companies in the Netherlands, Greece, Turkey, Egypt and South Africa and disposals in Australia, Belgium and Switzerland. It also includes the conversion of Bharti Airtel from a joint venture to an investment after joint control was relinquished and an adjustment to Verizon Wireless’ proportionate customer base to exclude minority interests. Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal and South Africa were also impacted by a change in disconnection policies.

(3)             Prepaid customer percentages are calculated on a venture basis. At 31 March 2007, there were 630.3 million venture customers.

(4)             Customers in South Africa refers to the Group’s interests in Vodacom Group (Pty) Limited and includes customers in South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Mozambique and Tanzania. The Group’s proportionate customer base in South Africa has been adjusted for its proportionate ownership of the customer bases across all their network interests of approximately 91.8% at 31 March 2007.

 

32


 

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUSINESSES

VODAFONE LIVE! ACTIVE DEVICES

 

 

 

NINE MONTHS TO 31 DECEMBER 2006

 

 

QUARTER TO 31 MARCH 2007

 

COUNTRY

 

AT 1
APR 2006

 

NET
ADDITIONS

 

AT 31
DEC 2006

 

 

NET
ADDITIONS

 

AT 31
MAR 2007

 

 

 

(‘000s)

 

(‘000s)

 

(‘000s)

 

 

(‘000s)

 

(‘000s)

 

Europe:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Germany

 

6,214

 

238

 

6,452

 

 

(69)

 

6,383

 

Italy

 

4,097

 

1,389

 

5,486

 

 

186

 

5,672

 

Spain

 

5,514

 

1,330

 

6,844

 

 

347

 

7,191

 

UK(2)

 

4,181

 

529

 

4,710

 

 

(1,099)

 

3,611

 

Other

 

4,229

 

956

 

5,185

 

 

187

 

5,372

 

Total Europe

 

24,235

 

4,442

 

28,677

 

 

(448)

 

28,229

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total EMAPA

 

2,835

 

1,163

 

3,998

 

 

95

 

4,093

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Group Statutory Total(1)

 

27,070

 

5,605

 

32,675

 

 

(353)

 

32,322

 

 

 

Notes:

(1)  The table above only includes Vodafone live! customers in the Group’s subsidiary and joint venture undertakings. At 31 March 2007, there were an additional 7.6 million (31 December 2006: 7.2 million, 30 September 2006: 6.8 million, 30 June 2006: 6.5 million, 31 March 2006: 5.9 million) registered Vodafone live! venture customers in the Group’s associated undertakings.

(2)  During the quarter the UK revised the methodology of calculating Vodafone live! active devices which resulted in a reduction of over 1.0 million devices.

 

3G DEVICES

 

 

 

NINE MONTHS TO 31 DECEMBER 2006

 

 

QUARTER TO 31 MARCH 2007

 

COUNTRY

 

AT 1
APR 2006

 

NET
ADDITIONS

 

AT 31
DEC 2006

 

 

NET
ADDITIONS

 

AT 31
MAR 2007

 

 

 

(‘000s)

 

(‘000s)

 

(‘000s)

 

 

(‘000s)

 

(‘000s)

 

Europe:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Germany

 

2,025

 

1,270

 

3,295

 

 

425

 

3,720

 

Italy

 

2,250

 

1,177

 

3,427

 

 

335

 

3,762

 

Spain

 

902

 

1,377

 

2,279

 

 

611

 

2,890

 

UK

 

1,033

 

426

 

1,459

 

 

479

 

1,938

 

Other

 

1,230

 

842

 

2,072

 

 

281

 

2,353

 

Total Europe

 

7,440

 

5,092

 

12,532

 

 

2,131

 

14,663

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total EMAPA(2)

 

416

 

632

 

1,048

 

 

157

 

1,205

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Group Statutory Total(1)

 

7,856

 

5,724

 

13,580

 

 

2,288

 

15,868

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consumer devices

 

7,196

 

5,104

 

12,300

 

 

1,946

 

14,246

 

Business devices

 

660

 

620

 

1,280

 

 

342

 

1,622

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7,856

 

5,724

 

13,580

 

 

2,288

 

15,868

 

 

 

Notes:

(1)  The table above only includes 3G devices in the Group’s subsidiary and joint venture undertakings. At 31 March 2007, there were an additional 3.0 million (31 December 2006: 2.6 million, 30 September 2006: 2.3 million, 30 June 2006: 2.0 million, 31 March 2006: 1.7 million) registered Vodafone live! with 3G and Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G/GPRS data card venture customers in the Group’s associated undertakings.

(2)  With effect from the quarter ended 31 December 2006, 3G devices now include the results of Vodafone Romania and previously reported numbers have been restated to include an additional 135,000 and 222,000 3G devices at 1 April 2006 and 30 September 2006 respectively.

 

33


 

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUSINESSES

AVERAGE MONTHLY MOBILE REVENUE PER USER IN THE QUARTER

 

COUNTRY

 

 

 

30 JUN
2005

 

 

30 SEP
2005

 

 

31 DEC
2005

 

 

31 MAR
2006

 

 

30 JUN
2006

 

 

30 SEP
2006

 

 

31 DEC
2006

 

 

31 MAR
2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Europe:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Germany

 

Total

 

24.3

 

 

24.4

 

 

22.9

 

 

21.5

 

 

22.1

 

 

22.4

 

 

20.9

 

 

19.3

 

 

(EUR)

 

Contract

 

39.8

 

 

41.0

 

 

38.8

 

 

37.2

 

 

38.4

 

 

39.0

 

 

36.7

 

 

34.7

 

 

 

 

Prepaid

 

9.2

 

 

9.0

 

 

8.3

 

 

7.5

 

 

7.6

 

 

7.6

 

 

7.0

 

 

6.1

 

 

Italy

 

Total

 

30.4

 

 

29.9

 

 

27.7

 

 

26.4

 

 

27.6

 

 

27.1

 

 

25.8

 

 

23.4

 

 

(EUR)

 

Contract

 

79.4

 

 

75.0

 

 

73.7

 

 

71.0

 

 

72.6

 

 

68.0

 

 

71.1

 

 

69.5

 

 

 

 

Prepaid

 

25.8

 

 

25.9

 

 

23.5

 

 

22.2

 

 

23.3

 

 

23.2

 

 

21.5

 

 

19.1

 

 

Spain

 

Total

 

36.2

 

 

37.7

 

 

35.3

 

 

33.3

 

 

35.3

 

 

36.4

 

 

35.3

 

 

33.8

 

 

(EUR)

 

Contract

 

58.5

 

 

60.7

 

 

56.3

 

 

52.8

 

 

54.8

 

 

55.2

 

 

51.3

 

 

48.9

 

 

 

 

Prepaid

 

15.4

 

 

16.2

 

 

15.0

 

 

13.9

 

 

15.0

 

 

15.4

 

 

16.0

 

 

15.0

 

 

UK

 

Total

 

24.6

 

 

25.1

 

 

23.8

 

 

22.7

 

 

23.7

 

 

24.5

 

 

23.6

 

 

22.7

 

 

(GBP)

 

Contract

 

46.5

 

 

47.9

 

 

44.8

 

 

43.9

 

 

45.2

 

 

46.5

 

 

43.7

 

 

43.4

 

 

 

 

Prepaid

 

9.5

 

 

9.9

 

 

9.5

 

 

8.8

 

 

8.9

 

 

9.4

 

 

9.5

 

 

8.6

 

 

Albania

 

Total

 

2,255

 

 

2,534

 

 

2,259

 

 

2,098

 

 

2,122

 

 

2,311

 

 

2,086

 

 

1,868

 

 

(ALL)

 

Contract

 

18,783

 

 

19,815

 

 

18,499

 

 

16,777

 

 

17,240

 

 

17,941

 

 

16,329

 

 

14,612

 

 

 

 

Prepaid

 

1,680

 

 

1,936

 

 

1,701

 

 

1,593

 

 

1,606

 

 

1,782

 

 

1,605

 

 

1,419

 

 

Greece

 

Total

 

32.2

 

 

34.2

 

 

31.3

 

 

29.8

 

 

31.1

 

 

31.0

 

 

27.6

 

 

24.7

 

 

(EUR)

 

Contract

 

65.1

 

 

69.7

 

 

64.2

 

 

61.5

 

 

65.6

 

 

66.8

 

 

61.6

 

 

56.5

 

 

 

 

Prepaid

 

15.1

 

 

15.7

 

 

14.1

 

 

13.4

 

 

13.7

 

 

13.4

 

 

11.4

 

 

10.1

 

 

Ireland

 

Total

 

51.4

 

 

53.1

 

 

50.2

 

 

48.6

 

 

48.8

 

 

46.9

 

 

45.6

 

 

44.6

 

 

(EUR)

 

Contract

 

101.9

 

 

107.8

 

 

99.9

 

 

99.3

 

 

102.8

 

 

99.4

 

 

94.5

 

 

92.5

 

 

 

 

Prepaid

 

32.1

 

 

32.6

 

 

31.6

 

 

30.0

 

 

29.3

 

 

28.0

 

 

27.9

 

 

27.2

 

 

Malta

 

Total

 

14.0

 

 

16.2

 

 

13.0

 

 

12.1

 

 

14.7

 

 

16.6

 

 

12.6

 

 

12.0

 

 

(MTL)

 

Contract

 

74.6

 

 

91.4

 

 

61.8

 

 

54.4

 

 

72.3

 

 

87.1

 

 

52.6

 

 

49.6

 

 

 

 

Prepaid

 

7.4

 

 

7.8

 

 

7.3

 

 

6.9

 

 

7.4

 

 

7.9

 

 

7.3

 

 

6.8

 

 

Netherlands

 

Total

 

37.1

 

 

36.6

 

 

34.5

 

 

33.6

 

 

35.7

 

 

36.9

 

 

31.7

 

 

36.1

 

 

(EUR)

 

Contract

 

69.5

 

 

68.6

 

 

64.7

 

 

61.3

 

 

63.5

 

 

64.6

 

 

52.0

 

 

57.8

 

 

 

 

Prepaid

 

11.3

 

 

11.0

 

 

9.8

 

 

9.2

 

 

10.1

 

 

10.4

 

 

9.8

 

 

9.8

 

 

Portugal

 

Total

 

26.4

 

 

27.1

 

 

24.0

 

 

23.3

 

 

23.5

 

 

24.4

 

 

22.8

 

 

22.1

 

 

(EUR)

 

Contract

 

67.3

 

 

69.8

 

 

61.9

 

 

62.4

 

 

62.2

 

 

62.8

 

 

57.8

 

 

54.2

 

 

 

 

Prepaid

 

14.3

 

 

14.7

 

 

13.4

 

 

12.9

 

 

13.0

 

 

13.9

 

 

13.2

 

 

13.2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EMAPA Subsidiaries:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Australia

 

Total

 

47.8

 

 

48.2

 

 

51.4

 

 

47.9

 

 

49.4

 

 

52.4

 

 

54.0

 

 

51.3

 

 

(AUD)

 

Contract

 

92.8

 

 

93.6

 

 

94.3

 

 

92.0

 

 

92.7

 

 

96.4

 

 

98.8

 

 

97.1

 

 

 

 

Prepaid

 

26.7

 

 

31.1

 

 

35.0

 

 

32.0

 

 

33.9

 

 

36.2

 

 

37.2

 

 

34.1

 

 

Czech Republic

 

Total

 

680

 

 

679

 

 

679

 

 

644

 

 

674

 

 

670

 

 

658

 

 

613

 

 

(CZK)

 

Contract

 

1,029

 

 

1,017

 

 

1,015

 

 

951

 

 

978

 

 

966

 

 

946

 

 

897

 

 

 

 

Prepaid

 

340

 

 

342

 

 

337

 

 

311

 

 

331

 

 

334

 

 

331

 

 

295

 

 

Egypt

 

Total

 

91.4

 

 

89.4

 

 

74.1

 

 

79.0

 

 

79.4

 

 

88.1

 

 

79.4

 

 

75.0

 

 

(EGP)

 

Contract

 

268.6

 

 

283.9

 

 

274.1

 

 

289.3

 

 

292.1

 

 

309.7

 

 

289.9

 

 

295.8

 

 

 

 

Prepaid

 

60.7

 

 

62.4

 

 

52.0

 

 

56.0

 

 

57.1

 

 

66.7

 

 

61.4

 

 

59.1

 

 

Hungary

 

Total

 

5,321

 

 

5,153

 

 

4,885

 

 

4,647

 

 

5,066

 

 

5,339

 

 

5,171

 

 

4,749

 

 

(HUF)

 

Contract

 

11,302

 

 

11,264

 

 

9,666

 

 

8,809

 

 

9,129

 

 

9,097

 

 

8,529

 

 

7,847

 

 

 

 

Prepaid

 

3,391

 

 

3,046

 

 

3,043

 

 

2,887

 

 

3,125

 

 

3,359

 

 

3,250

 

 

2,839

 

 

New Zealand

 

Total

 

50.7

 

 

51.0

 

 

51.2

 

 

51.2

 

 

46.6

 

 

46.6

 

 

50.7

 

 

49.3

 

 

(NZD)

 

Contract

 

138.9

 

 

139.7

 

 

137.2

 

 

138.5

 

 

126.1

 

 

125.3

 

 

128.9

 

 

122.8

 

 

 

 

Prepaid

 

25.9

 

 

25.6

 

 

25.9

 

 

25.7

 

 

23.2

 

 

22.5

 

 

23.7

 

 

23.4

 

 

Turkey(1)

 

Total

 

N/A

 

 

N/A

 

 

N/A

 

 

N/A

 

 

N/A

 

 

16.5

 

 

14.4

 

 

14.4

 

 

(TRY)

 

Contract

 

N/A

 

 

N/A

 

 

N/A

 

 

N/A

 

 

N/A

 

 

31.4

 

 

28.2

 

 

28.7

 

 

 

 

Prepaid

 

N/A

 

 

N/A

 

 

N/A

 

 

N/A

 

 

N/A

 

 

14.8

 

 

12.9

 

 

12.9

 

 

Romania

 

Total

 

14.9

 

 

15.9

 

 

15.4

 

 

13.9

 

 

15.2

 

 

15.9

 

 

15.6

 

 

14.0

 

 

(USD)

 

Contract

 

30.2

 

 

31.1

 

 

29.5

 

 

27.0

 

 

29.5

 

 

30.8

 

 

30.6

 

 

27.1

 

 

 

 

Prepaid

 

6.3

 

 

7.1

 

 

7.0

 

 

6.0

 

 

6.7

 

 

7.3

 

 

7.0

 

 

6.1

 

 

 

Note:

(1)   On 24 May 2006, the Group acquired substantially all the assets and business of Telsim Mobil Telekomunikasyon Hizmetleri in Turkey.  As a result, average monthly revenue per user in the quarter has only been published with effect from the quarter ended 30 September 2006.

 

34


 

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUSINESSES

MOBILE NON-VOICE SERVICE REVENUE AS A PERCENTAGE OF SERVICE REVENUE(1)

 

 

 

 

QUARTER TO 31 MARCH 2007

COUNTRY

 

 

MESSAGING

 

 

DATA

 

 

TOTAL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Germany

 

 

14.7%

 

 

9.7%

 

 

24.4%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Italy

 

 

15.1%

 

 

5.3%

 

 

20.4%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spain

 

 

9.3%

 

 

6.7%

 

 

16.0%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UK

 

 

17.2%

 

 

7.1%

 

 

24.3%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Group Statutory Total

 

 

12.8%

 

 

6.1%

 

 

18.9%

 

 

Note:

(1)          Service revenue from the mobile telecommunications businesses excludes fixed line operators and DSL revenue.

 

HISTORIC MOBILE NON-VOICE SERVICE REVENUE INFORMATION

 

 

 

 

 

NON-VOICE SERVICES AS A PERCENTAGE OF SERVICE REVENUE(1) IN THE QUARTER TO

COUNTRY

 

 

30 JUN
2005

 

 

30 SEP
2005

 

 

31 DEC
2005

 

 

31 MAR 2006

 

 

30 JUN 2006

 

 

30 SEP
2006

 

 

31 DEC 2006

 

 

31 MAR 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Germany

 

 

19.3%

 

 

19.5%

 

 

20.4%

 

 

21.7%

 

 

21.2%

 

 

21.6%

 

 

22.9%

 

 

24.4%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Italy

 

 

14.9%

 

 

16.8%

 

 

17.4%

 

 

18.0%

 

 

17.3%

 

 

17.5%

 

 

18.7%

 

 

20.4%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spain

 

 

13.7%

 

 

14.2%

 

 

14.8%

 

 

15.1%

 

 

15.7%

 

 

14.7%

 

 

15.3%

 

 

16.0%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UK

 

 

19.3%

 

 

19.7%

 

 

20.7%

 

 

21.3%

 

 

20.9%

 

 

21.7%

 

 

23.2%

 

 

24.3%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Group Statutory Total

 

 

16.2%

 

 

16.6%

 

 

17.2%

 

 

17.8%

 

 

17.4%

 

 

17.8%

 

 

18.9%

 

 

18.9%

 

 

Note:

(1)          Service revenue from the mobile telecommunications businesses excludes fixed line operators and DSL revenue.

 

35


KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUSINESSES

MOBILE CUSTOMER CHURN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANNUALISED CHURN INFORMATION IN THE QUARTER TO

COUNTRY

 

 

 

 

 

30 JUN 2005

 

 

30 SEP
2005

 

 

31 DEC 2005

 

 

31 MAR 2006

 

 

30 JUN 2006

 

 

30 SEP 2006

 

 

31 DEC 2006

 

 

31 MAR 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Germany(1)

 

 

Total

 

 

17.3%

 

 

19.7%

 

 

21.2%

 

 

22.6%

 

 

20.7%

 

 

22.1%

 

 

20.1%

 

 

24.2%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contract

 

 

13.1%

 

 

14.3%

 

 

16.8%

 

 

16.7%

 

 

14.6%

 

 

13.5%

 

 

15.7%

 

 

14.9%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prepaid

 

 

21.1%

 

 

24.6%

 

 

25.2%

 

 

27.7%

 

 

26.0%

 

 

29.5%

 

 

23.9%

 

 

31.9%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Italy

 

 

Total

 

 

17.3%

 

 

18.7%

 

 

19.1%

 

 

19.5%

 

 

20.8%

 

 

21.7%

 

 

19.4%

 

 

20.6%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contract

 

 

14.9%

 

 

14.5%

 

 

16.6%

 

 

14.5%

 

 

17.2%

 

 

13.6%

 

 

14.8%

 

 

14.1%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prepaid

 

 

17.5%

 

 

19.1%

 

 

19.3%

 

 

19.9%

 

 

21.1%

 

 

22.4%

 

 

19.8%

 

 

21.2%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spain(2)

 

 

Total

 

 

21.7%

 

 

20.7%

 

 

20.6%

 

 

20.6%

 

 

20.5%

 

 

37.0%

 

 

23.4%

 

 

24.7%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contract

 

 

13.6%

 

 

12.5%

 

 

13.9%

 

 

14.1%

 

 

12.3%

 

 

13.4%

 

 

15.3%

 

 

16.6%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prepaid

 

 

29.0%

 

 

28.1%

 

 

26.9%

 

 

26.9%

 

 

28.9%

 

 

62.5%

 

 

32.8%

 

 

34.5%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UK

 

 

Total

 

 

32.4%

 

 

33.1%

 

 

31.9%

 

 

31.2%

 

 

32.8%

 

 

37.6%

 

 

35.4%

 

 

29.8%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contract

 

 

23.2%

 

 

21.6%

 

 

20.2%

 

 

21.2%

 

 

20.1%

 

 

18.8%

 

 

17.9%

 

 

17.4%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prepaid

 

 

38.3%

 

 

40.5%

 

 

39.5%

 

 

37.5%

 

 

40.9%

 

 

49.9%

 

 

47.0%

 

 

37.9%

 

 

Notes:

(1)     The customer churn for Germany for the quarter ended 31 December 2006 benefited from a regulatory driven change in the prepaid disconnection policy, which reduced disconnections by 291,000 in the quarter. The underlying prepaid customer churn, excluding this change, was 31.1% and total churn was 24.0%.

(2)     The customer churn for Spain for the quarter ended 30 September 2006 includes the effect of 584,000 disconnections following a change in the application of disconnection policies. The underlying customer churn, excluding these disconnections, was 20.1%.

 

 

 

 

ACTIVE MOBILE CUSTOMERS

 

 

 

ACTIVE CUSTOMERS(1) AT

COUNTRY

 

 

30 JUN
2005

 

 

30 SEP
2005

 

 

31 DEC
2005

 

 

31 MAR
2006

 

 

30 JUN
2006

 

 

30 SEP
2006

 

 

31 DEC
2006

 

 

31 MAR
2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Germany

 

 

93.0%

 

 

92.8%

 

 

91.5%

 

 

90.6%

 

 

90.6%

 

 

90.6%

 

 

89.9%

 

 

89.6%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Italy

 

 

92.2%

 

 

92.8%

 

 

92.1%

 

 

91.2%

 

 

90.9%

 

 

90.4%

 

 

89.3%

 

 

88.0%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spain

 

 

94.8%

 

 

95.0%

 

 

95.7%

 

 

94.3%

 

 

93.8%

 

 

98.5%

 

 

95.1%

 

 

94.0%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UK

 

 

88.8%

 

 

90.6%

 

 

90.8%

 

 

88.4%

 

 

85.7%

 

 

86.9%

 

 

86.7%

 

 

88.5%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Group Statutory Total(1)

 

 

91.3%

 

 

92.2%

 

 

92.1%

 

 

91.6%

 

 

91.0%

 

 

91.6%

 

 

90.8%

 

 

90.5%

 

 

Note:

(1)  An active customer is defined as one who either pays a monthly fee or has made or received a chargeable event in the last 3 months. The Group’s subsidiary in Turkey, the Group’s joint venture in Kenya and the Group’s former joint venture in India are currently unable to measure active customers on this basis and so have been excluded from the calculation of the Group Statutory Total activity percentages in the table above.

 

36


 

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUSINESSES

MOBILE VOICE USAGE VOLUMES

 

 

TOTAL VOICE MINUTES(1) (MILLIONS) IN THE QUARTER TO

 

COUNTRY

 

3O JUN
2005

 

30 SEP
2005

 

31 DEC
2005

 

31 MAR
2006

 

30 JUN
2006

 

30 SEP
2006

 

31 DEC
2006

 

31 MAR
2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Europe:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Germany

 

6,356

 

6,428

 

7,010

 

6,993

 

7,614

 

7,979

 

8,650

 

9,230

 

Italy

 

7,173

 

7,164

 

7,521

 

7,746

 

7,687

 

8,050

 

8,256

 

8,439

 

Spain

 

5,648

 

5,859

 

5,966

 

6,362

 

6,978

 

7,533

 

7,655

 

8,248

 

UK

 

6,810

 

6,937

 

7,167

 

7,145

 

7,207

 

7,579

 

8,160

 

8,790

 

Albania

 

129

 

144

 

141

 

135

 

148

 

166

 

160

 

167

 

Greece

 

1,757

 

1,896

 

1,870

 

1,869

 

2,075

 

2,216

 

2,113

 

1,985

 

Ireland

 

1,263

 

1,279

 

1,302

 

1,289

 

1,380

 

1,422

 

1,462

 

1,420

 

Malta

 

42

 

47

 

43

 

43

 

49

 

55

 

50

 

48

 

Netherlands

 

1,697

 

1,601

 

1,755

 

1,733

 

1,820

 

1,711

 

1,868

 

1,900

 

Portugal

 

1,319

 

1,384

 

1,386

 

1,402

 

1,472

 

1,606

 

1,586

 

1,612

 

Sweden

 

688

 

681

 

753

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

Total Europe

 

32,882

 

33,420

 

34,914

 

34,717

 

36,430

 

38,317

 

39,960

 

41,839

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EMAPA:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eastern Europe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Czech Republic(2)

 

289

 

840

 

899

 

925

 

901

 

868

 

919

 

916

 

Hungary

 

741

 

792

 

842

 

866

 

948

 

980

 

1,030

 

1,030

 

Romania(2)(4)

 

463

 

1,486

 

1,630

 

1,628

 

1,873

 

2,059

 

2,231

 

2,339

 

Turkey(3)

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

2,494

 

6,451

 

5,781

 

6,224

 

Joint Ventures

 

538

 

392

 

466

 

505

 

575

 

641

 

717

 

681

 

 

 

2,031

 

3,510

 

3,837

 

3,924

 

6,791

 

10,999

 

10,678

 

11,190

 

Middle East, Africa & Asia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Egypt

 

1,979

 

2,341

 

2,278

 

2,442

 

2,869

 

3,462

 

3,670

 

4,156

 

Joint Ventures

 

1,463

 

1,539

 

2,105

 

4,153

 

5,160

 

5,713

 

6,638

 

5,781

 

 

 

3,442

 

3,880

 

4,383

 

6,595

 

8,029

 

9,175

 

10,308

 

9,937

 

Pacific

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Australia

 

1,619

 

1,818

 

1,957

 

2,001

 

2,006

 

2,141

 

2,238

 

2,222

 

New Zealand

 

540

 

559

 

616

 

602

 

597

 

597

 

672

 

771

 

Joint Ventures

 

20

 

26

 

27

 

26

 

28

 

33

 

34

 

32

 

 

 

2,179

 

2,403

 

2,600

 

2,629

 

2,631

 

2,771

 

2,944

 

3,025

 

TOTAL EMAPA

 

7,652

 

9,793

 

10,820

 

13,148

 

17,451

 

22,945

 

23,930

 

24,152

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Group Statutory Total

 

40,534

 

43,213

 

45,734

 

47,865

 

53,881

 

61,262

 

63,890

 

65,991

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notes:

(1)             The total voice minute information presented in the table above represents the volume of minutes handled by each local network and includes incoming, outgoing and visitor calls. The voice minute information in respect of Germany, Czech Republic and New Zealand reflects minutes billed which are rounded up under certain tariffs.

(2)             MobiFon S.A. in Romania and Oskar Mobil a.s. in the Czech Republic became subsidiaries on 31 May 2005. Voice minutes in the quarter to 30 June 2005 only include volumes during the month of June 2005. Prior to 31 May 2005, MobiFon S.A. was treated as a joint venture and was previously included within Eastern Europe Joint Ventures.

(3)             On 24 May 2006, the Group acquired substantially all the assets and business of Telsim Mobil Telekomunikasyon Hizmetleri in Turkey. The quarter ended 30 June 2006 has been restated to include voice minutes from the acquisition date.

(4)             During the quarter to 31 December 2006, Vodafone Romania restated usage volumes for all quarters in the prior year. Previous volumes were billed minutes and this has now been restated to network minutes.

 

37


 

SIGNATURES

 

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorised.

 

VODAFONE GROUP

PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY

(Registrant)

 

 

 

Dated: May 30, 2007

 

By:

 

 

Name:

Stephen R. Scott

 

 

Title:

Group General Counsel and Company

 

 

 

Secretary