TIDMVOD
RNS Number : 0942E
Vodafone Group Plc
05 February 2015
Interim management statement for the quarter ended 31 December
2014
5 February 2015
Highlights
-- Q3 Group organic service revenue declined 0.4%*; Europe -2.7%*, AMAP 5.9%*
-- Steady recovery in Europe, return to growth in UK: Germany
-1.0%*, UK 0.9%*, Italy -7.4%*, Spain -8.9%*
-- Continued momentum in AMAP despite tougher conditions in
South Africa: India 15.0%*, Vodacom -3.9%*, Turkey 11.8%*
-- Strong progress on Project Spring: mobile build 50% complete, European 4G coverage 65%
-- 4G now available in 18 markets, with 13.7 million 4G customers across the Group
-- Integration of KDG and Ono on track, with synergies in line with expectations
-- Full year guidance confirmed, EBITDA GBP11.6 billion to
GBP11.9 billion, free cash flow positive after all capex. Guidance
excludes Ono
Quarter ended Change
--------------------
31 December
2014 Reported Organic*
GBPm % %
-------------------------------------- -------------- --------- ---------
Group revenue 10,881 13.5 0.7
Group service revenue 9,789 12.4 (0.4)
Europe 6,626 18.2 (2.7)
Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific
('AMAP') 3,062 2.4 5.9
Capital expenditure 2,134 39.2
Free cash flow(1) (11) n/m
-------------------------------------- -------------- --------- ---------
Notes:
* All amounts in this document marked with an "*" represent organic
growth which presents performance on a comparable basis including
merger and acquisition activity and movements in foreign exchange
rates.
1 Free cash flow excludes restructuring costs for the quarter
ended 31 December 2014 of GBP70 million (2013: GBP26 million).
Vittorio Colao, Group Chief Executive, commented:
"We have achieved another quarter of improving revenue trends in
most of our major markets. Growth in India has accelerated again,
driven by data. In Europe, improved commercial execution in both
mobile and fixed over the last few quarters, combined with strong
data demand and a more stable pricing environment, is supporting
the steady recovery in the top line. Our recent cable acquisitions
continue to perform well, with good progress made on
integration.
"Our Project Spring investment programme is well advanced, with
4G coverage in Europe now 65%, dropped call rates down to 0.64%,
and 26 million homes now passed by our own next generation
networks: our customers are really beginning to notice the
difference in experience that this investment delivers. We are
confident that, over time, this will translate into further
improvements in customer perception, ARPU and churn."
OPERATING REVIEW
Group performance
Group revenue was GBP10.9 billion and Group service revenue was
GBP9.8 billion. On an organic basis Group service revenue decreased
0.4%* (Q2: -1.5%*) and, excluding the impact of mobile termination
rate ('MTR') cuts, Group service revenue grew 0.2%* (Q2:
-0.9%*).
Europe
In Europe, organic service revenue continued to recover,
declining 2.7%* (Q2: -5.0%*), or 2.3%* (Q2: -4.6%*) excluding the
impact of MTR cuts. Our commercial performance in most markets
continued to improve, supported by a more stable pricing
environment in most markets and a weak prior period.
Improvements in mobile (Q3 mobile service revenue -3.9%*, Q2:
-5.6%*) came from contract customer growth, the early benefits to
ARPU of 4G migration, and increased data usage. We now have 10.1
million 4G customers across Europe. In fixed, the positive customer
net additions trend continued. This, combined with a stronger
carrier services performance, resulted in a return to growth in
fixed line service revenue, with a 4.4* percentage point sequential
improvement quarter-on-quarter (Q3: 2.3%, Q2: -2.1%).
Total revenue increased 19.9%, including a 27.4 percentage point
favourable impact from M&A, primarily from KDG and Ono, and a
5.8 percentage point adverse impact from foreign exchange
movements.
Revenue
Quarter ended
31 December Change
---------------- --------------------
2014 2013 Reported Organic*
GBPm GBPm % %
----------------- ------- ------- --------- ---------
Germany 1,974 2,049 (3.7) (1.0)
Italy 1,037 - - (7.4)
UK 1,532 1,518 0.9 0.9
Spain 924 788 17.3 (8.9)
Other Europe 1,174 1,259 (6.8) (1.0)
Eliminations (15) (6)
Service revenue 6,626 5,608 18.2 (2.7)
----------------- ------- ------- --------- ---------
Revenue 7,273 6,065 19.9 (1.7)
----------------- ------- ------- --------- ---------
Germany
Service revenue declined 1.0%* (Q2: -3.4%*) excluding KDG. The
quarterly improvement in revenue trends was supported by ongoing
contract customer growth.
Mobile service revenue declined 1.5%* (Q2: -3.6%*), driven by
improved commercial and network performance, and an increase in
MVNO revenue. Our contract customer base continued to grow strongly
with net additions increasing to 235,000 in the quarter (Q2:
121,000). In total we now have 3.4 million 4G customers. Our
network modernisation programme as part of Project Spring continues
to progress well, with 4G outdoor population coverage at 73%.
Recent Connect network tests published in December highlight the
significant network improvements made in voice, data and 4G
coverage.
In fixed, service revenue (excluding KDG) grew 0.5%* (Q2:
-2.6%*) driven by an improvement in carrier services. Broadband
service revenue remained under pressure, reflecting a more
aggressive commercial strategy which improved the gross customer
addition trend but negatively impacted ARPU. In November, we
launched our first fixed-mobile bundled product Vodafone
'All-in-One'.
KDG continued to perform strongly with service revenue growth on
a local GAAP basis of 6.5%(1) and an acceleration in broadband net
additions (Q3: 136,000, Q2: 108,000). The integration of KDG
remains on track, and cost and capex synergies remain in line with
our expectations. KDG was recognised by consumer organisation
Stiftung Warentest as the best broadband provider in Germany.
Italy
Service revenue declined 7.4%* (Q2: -9.7%*), reflecting a
continued improvement in quarterly trends, led by growth in both
enterprise and fixed line.
Mobile service revenue declined 9.6%* (Q2: -11.7%*). While ARPU
remained stable, our prepay customer base continued to decline, as
competition in the consumer market remained challenging. However,
our greater emphasis on customer retention saw a reduction in
customers porting to competitors. Our 4G network expansion
programme continued to progress well, with outdoor population
coverage at 76% and 1.2 million customers now subscribing to 4G
services.
Fixed line revenue grew 5.0%* (Q2: 2.0%*), supported by
broadband net additions of 38,000, stable ARPU, and a strong
carrier services performance, partially offset by declining fixed
line voice usage in the legacy Tele2 business. Our
fibre-to-the-cabinet build programme has gained good momentum with
1,800 street cabinets now installed across 37 cities, and we remain
on track to install 4,000 cabinets by 31 March 2015.
Enterprise returned to growth in the quarter, with strong growth
in fixed and an improving trend in mobile.
UK
The UK returned to growth in the quarter with service revenue
increasing 0.9%* (Q2: -3.0%*), supported by growth in both mobile
consumer and enterprise, and an improving fixed line
performance.
Mobile service revenue increased 2.0%* (Q2: -0.3%*), with
consumer contract and enterprise both growing. In consumer, we
delivered strong contract net additions in the quarter of 76,000,
supported by successful sales campaigns. Our 4G plans with content
have continued to gain good traction, with 2.2 million 4G customers
at the end of the quarter. In enterprise, strong data growth drove
an improvement in ARPU.
Fixed line revenue declined 2.0%* (Q2: -10.6%*) following
improvements in both carrier services and enterprise sales.
Steady progress has been made on Project Spring with 4G outdoor
population coverage at 57%, and the dropped call rate continued to
improve to 0.86% from 0.94% in the prior quarter. The newly
acquired Phones 4U stores have been rebranded, further
strengthening our direct sales channel presence.
Spain
Service revenue declined 8.9%* (Q2: -9.3%*) excluding Ono,
reflecting continued intense convergence price competition.
Mobile service revenue declined 11.1%* (Q2: -11.7%*) as a result
of earlier price reductions in the market which have continued to
impact mobile ARPU. Despite the competitive environment, contract
customer net additions increased to 28,000 with growth in both
consumer and enterprise. Our 4G service is available in all 52
Spanish provinces and the outdoor population coverage is now 69%.
We had over 2.2 million 4G customers at the end of the quarter. In
December, we launched an online second brand, Lowi, to address the
entry level segment of the market.
Fixed line revenue grew 9.9%* (Q2: +12.9%*) excluding Ono,
supported by strong net customer additions of 40,000 before
migrations. We have 0.9 million homes covered by our joint fibre
network build with Orange.
The performance and integration of Ono remains in line with our
expectations. Revenue (excluding wholesale) on a local GAAP basis
declined 1.3%(1) (Q2: flat(1) ). Cost and capex synergies from the
integration have been confirmed and 25,000 DSL customers have been
migrated to cable.
Other Europe
Service revenue declined 1.0%* (Q2: -1.8%*), with a number of
markets showing improving trends despite ongoing competitive
pressures. The Netherlands returned to service revenue growth at
2.2%* in the quarter (Q2: -0.3%*), supported by continued growth in
the mobile contract base and stable ARPU. In Ireland, service
revenue declined 1.2%* (Q2: -0.1%*) due to continued price pressure
in prepaid, which was not fully offset by migrations to consumer
contract. In Portugal, service revenue declined 4.8%* (Q2: -4.8%*)
reflecting continued intense converged price competition. In
Greece, the revenue trend improved to -1.4%* (Q2: -3.5%*) due to
customer base growth and ARPU stabilisation. We saw improving
service revenue trends in the Czech Republic and continued growth
in Hungary, partially offset by a decline in Romania.
AMAP
Organic service revenue in the AMAP region increased 5.9%* (Q2:
6.8%*), with continued momentum in most markets. The region
continues to benefit from strong customer growth, increased usage
of voice and data services, and effective marketing and pricing
strategies. The total customer base grew to 318.2 million, with
voice and data usage up 9% and 110% respectively.
Total revenue increased 6.8%, including a 3.9 percentage point
favourable impact from foreign exchange movements.
Revenue
Quarter ended
31 December Change
----------------- --------------------
2014 2013 Reported Organic*
GBPm GBPm % %
----------------- -------- ------- --------- ---------
India 1,103 937 17.7 15.0
Vodacom 891 987 (9.7) (3.9)
Other AMAP 1,068 1,067 0.1 6.1
Service revenue 3,062 2,991 2.4 5.9
----------------- -------- ------- --------- ---------
Revenue 3,461 3,364 2.9 6.8
----------------- -------- ------- --------- ---------
India
Service revenue increased 15.0%* (Q2: 13.2%*), with an
acceleration in quarterly revenue trends driven by data uptake and
customer growth.
Data revenue continued to grow strongly, with mobile internet
revenue up 70%. This was supported by 30% growth in data customers
to 59 million, of which 16.6 million were 3G, and 40% growth in
average data usage per customer. Voice rates per minute remained
flat, with average minutes of use down 6.6%. Total mobile customers
increased 4.8 million in the quarter giving a closing customer base
of 178.7 million.
We continue to make good progress on Project Spring with 5,500
radio sites added in the quarter, (26,000 since the build
commenced) taking our 3G outdoor coverage in targeted urban areas
to 90%. The expansion of our retail store footprint also remains on
track. M-Pesa continues to expand and now has 337,000 active
customers, generating 78,000 transactions per day, supported by
over 85,000 agents.
Vodacom
Service revenue declined 3.9%* (Q2: 0.3%* growth), with
quarterly revenue trends deteriorating further following increased
competitive and macroeconomic pressures in South Africa.
South African service revenue decreased 5.8%* (Q2: -0.6%),
mainly due to a weakening in prepaid customer voice activity as a
result of competitive pressures. Data revenue increased 19% with
growth driven by an 86% increase in data volume, with average
monthly usage per customer now 445MB, and a 22% increase in active
smartphones to 8.4 million. Project Spring continued to progress
well with 4G outdoor coverage at 34% and 78% of all sites connected
with high capacity backhaul. The acquisition of fixed line provider
Neotel is currently under review by the telecoms and competition
authorities.
Vodacom's international operations outside of South Africa
delivered service revenue growth of 1.9%* (Q2: 4.2%*) mainly from
continued customer base growth as we invest in expanding our data
and voice networks, partially offset by pricing pressure in highly
competitive market environments. M-Pesa continued to perform well
across all of Vodacom's international mobile operations, with over
5 million customers actively using the service.
Other AMAP
Service revenue increased 6.1%* (Q2: 6.8%*), with growth in
Turkey, Egypt, Qatar and Ghana partially offset by a decline in New
Zealand.
Service revenue in Turkey grew 11.8%* (Q2: 10.6%*) reflecting
continued strong growth in consumer contract and enterprise
revenue, including higher ARPU and data usage. Total customer
numbers reached 20.5 million, with 354,000 net additions in the
quarter (excluding one-off adjustments). In Egypt, service revenue
grew 4.1%* (Q2: 4.2%*) as a result of an increase in data and voice
usage and a more stable economic environment. Total revenue growth
in Qatar slowed to 16.6%* (Q2: 20.1%*), reflecting a significant
increase in price competition.
Capital expenditure, cash flow and net debt
Capital expenditure was GBP2.1 billion in the quarter, an
increase of 39.2% year-on-year, reflecting the significant
investment we are making as part of Project Spring. Guidance free
cash flow was GBP0.0 billion, a decrease of GBP1.2 billion
year-on-year, principally as a result of the increase in capital
expenditure. Net debt at 31 December 2014 was GBP22.3 billion, an
increase of GBP0.5 billion quarter-on-quarter. This includes the
impact of the acquisition of 72.7% of Hellas Online SA in December
2014 for GBP180 million.
Strategic progress
Project Spring
We are half way through our mobile build programme having
modernised 61,000 mobile sites, added a further 86,000 2G, 3G and
4G sites, and upgraded 50,000 sites to high capacity backhaul since
the build began. In fixed line we have deployed our own high speed
next generation network technology to a further 0.7 million
households in the quarter, bringing the total number of households
passed in Europe to 26 million, or 48 million including wholesale
agreements.
As a result of this investment we are seeing clear improvements
in network coverage and quality. Our 4G outdoor population coverage
in Europe is 65%, up from 38% a year ago, equivalent to covering
222 million people. The dropped call rate in Europe has fallen to
0.64%, down from 0.9% when we announced Project Spring, and the
number of data sessions achieving 3Mbps or more is 87%, as we
remain on-track to reach our 90% target by March 2016. In India, we
have added 11,000 2G and 15,000 3G sites and are further
accelerating our plans to maintain the strong momentum achieved. In
December, we signed a global 15 year small cell framework agreement
with JCDecaux to provide access to street level infrastructure in
key city centres across Europe and AMAP to further enhance network
performance. Our retail store transformation is also progressing
well with a total of 32% of our targeted 8,000 stores now refitted
with the new Vodafone global design.
Data and 4G
Demand for data has continued to accelerate. Across the Group,
the total amount of traffic carried over our network has grown by
84% year-on-year (Q2: 81%), with AMAP growing 110% and Europe
67%.
4G is now available in 18 markets and our customer base has
continued to grow strongly with 13.7 million customers across the
Group at the end of the quarter. 4G now accounts for 26% of all
data traffic in our European markets compared to 17% a year ago.
Contract penetration across 4G enabled devices in Europe has
continued to rise to 66% from 57% in Q1 14/15, supported by our
attractive 4G content plans. We now have content packages available
in 10 markets following new launches in Germany, Ireland, Australia
and South Africa in the quarter.
Unified communications
Our transition to become a fully unified communications provider
is well advanced. The commercial performance of fixed line
continued to strengthen with our total fixed broadband customer
base in Europe growing to 11.1 million in the quarter.
The organic fibre build programmes in Spain and Portugal are
progressing well with a total of 0.9 million and 1.4 million
households now passed respectively. In Italy, our
fibre-to-the-cabinet build has gained momentum having built 1,800
cabinets in 37 cities and we are on track to install 4,000 cabinets
by the end of the financial year. In the Netherlands, our fibre
unbundling programme now reaches 300,000 homes with the target to
expand this to 1 million by March 2015. In Greece, we further
strengthened our unified communications position with the
acquisition of 72.7% of Hellas Online SA, a leading provider of
broadband and fixed line telephony, taking our overall ownership to
91.2% with a mandatory takeover offer now in place for the
remaining shares.
Acquisition integration
The process of integrating both KDG in Germany and Ono in Spain
remains on track. In Germany, we have begun to leverage KDG's
infrastructure for mobile backhaul having connected our first site,
and have also made further progress towards creating one common
national network backbone. We launched a fixed-mobile bundled
product in November and delivered our first Enterprise customer
connection via cable. In Spain, our new organisational structure
has been implemented and the relocation of Ono's headquarters and
most of the regional offices is complete. The network integration
plan has been implemented with joint network operations in place.
New agreements with the main backbone fibre provider are delivering
significant cost synergies and improved terms, and Ono fibre is now
connected to over 230 mobile radio sites. We also won our first
joint Ono-Vodafone total communications deal in Spain.
Summary and outlook(2)
The performance of the Group remains in line with our
expectations. Consequently we remain on target to deliver EBITDA
for the 2015 financial year in the range of GBP11.6 billion to
GBP11.9 billion, and expect free cash flow to be positive, after
all capex. Guidance excludes Ono.
Notes:
* All amounts in this document marked with an "*" represent
organic growth which presents performance on a comparable
basis including merger and acquisition activity and movements
in foreign exchange rates.
1 Revenue growths for KDG and Ono are reported using local GAAP,
not Vodafone IFRS accounting policies, and are therefore not
directly comparable.
2 Full details on this guidance are available on page 7 of the
Group's interim results announcement for the six months ended
30 September 2014.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Service revenue - quarter ended 31 December(1,2)
Group and Regions
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
Group Europe AMAP
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013
GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
--------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------
Mobile in-bundle 4,072 3,488 3,087 2,644 937 781
Mobile out-of-bundle 2,653 2,668 1,192 1,114 1,460 1,551
Mobile incoming 687 681 357 311 330 369
Fixed line 1,991 1,521 1,714 1,310 228 164
Other 386 354 276 229 107 126
--------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------
Service revenue 9,789 8,712 6,626 5,608 3,062 2,991
--------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------
Change
-------------------------------------------------------------
Group Europe AMAP
-------------------
Reported Organic Reported Organic Reported Organic
% % % % % %
--------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------
Mobile in-bundle 16.7 6.0 16.8 1.6 20.0 25.7
Mobile out-of-bundle (0.6) (10.0) 7.0 (16.9) (5.9) (3.5)
Mobile incoming 0.9 (6.3) 14.8 (4.3) (10.6) (8.4)
Fixed line 30.9 7.7 30.8 2.3 39.0 47.3
Other 9.0 (6.8) 20.5 5.5 (15.1) (10.7)
--------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------
Service revenue 12.4 (0.4) 18.2 (2.7) 2.4 5.9
--------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------
Operating Companies
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
Germany Italy UK(3)
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013
GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
--------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------
Mobile in-bundle 851 912 500 - 649 628
Mobile out-of-bundle 213 252 243 - 315 317
Mobile incoming 63 73 71 - 91 95
Fixed line 757 732 179 - 400 408
Other 90 80 44 - 77 70
--------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------
Service revenue 1,974 2,049 1,037 - 1,532 1,518
--------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------
Change
-------------------------------------------------------------
Germany Italy UK
-------------------
Reported Organic Reported Organic Reported Organic
% % % % % %
--------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------
Service revenue (3.7) (1.0) - (7.4) 0.9 0.9
--------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------
Spain India Vodacom
------------------- ------------------- -------------------
2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013
GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
--------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------
Mobile in-bundle 468 473 221 153 282 258
Mobile out-of-bundle 125 166 647 592 484 571
Mobile incoming 27 28 152 162 52 86
Fixed line 270 82 48 7 34 -
Other 34 39 35 23 39 72
--------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------
Service revenue 924 788 1,103 937 891 987
--------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------
Change
-------------------------------------------------------------
Spain India Vodacom
-------------------
Reported Organic Reported Organic Reported Organic
% % % % % %
--------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------
Service revenue 17.3 (8.9) 17.7 15.0 (9.7) (3.9)
--------- -------- --------- -------- --------- --------
Notes:
1 The sum of the regional amounts may not be equal to Group
totals due Common Functions and intercompany eliminations.
2 Organic growth presents performance on a comparable basis
including merger and acquisition activity and movements in
foreign exchange rates.
3 The analysis of UK mobile and fixed service revenue for the
quarter ended 31 December 2013 has been restated following
the integration of CWW into the UK business.
Mobile customers - quarter ended 31 December 2014
(in thousands)
1 October Net additions/ Other 31 December
Country 2014 (disconnections) movements 2014 Prepaid
---------------- ---------- ------------------ ----------- ------------ --------
Europe
Germany 31,711 (196) - 31,515 49.7%
Italy 26,038 (531) - 25,507 81.5%
UK 19,668 185 - 19,853 40.2%
Spain 14,780 31 - 14,811 25.4%
---------------- ---------- ------------------ ----------- ------------ --------
92,197 (511) - 91,686 52.5%
---------------- ---------- ------------------ ----------- ------------ --------
Other Europe
Netherlands 5,205 (25) - 5,180 25.3%
Ireland 2,058 (10) - 2,048 54.3%
Portugal 5,357 (150) - 5,207 72.0%
Romania 7,914 102 - 8,016 57.9%
Greece 5,020 30 - 5,050 69.0%
Czech Republic 3,226 12 - 3,238 37.0%
Hungary 2,647 23 - 2,670 44.2%
Albania 1,999 (31) - 1,968 94.6%
Malta 309 - - 309 81.6%
---------------- ---------- ------------------ ----------- ------------ --------
33,735 (49) - 33,686 55.8%
---------------- ---------- ------------------ ----------- ------------ --------
Europe 125,932 (560) - 125,372 53.4%
---------------- ---------- ------------------ ----------- ------------ --------
AMAP
India 173,847 4,829 - 178,676 93.3%
Vodacom(1) 68,259 694 - 68,953 92.5%
---------------- ---------- ------------------ ----------- ------------ --------
242,106 5,523 - 247,629 93.1%
---------------- ---------- ------------------ ----------- ------------ --------
Other AMAP
Turkey(2) 20,603 354 (410) 20,547 59.4%
Egypt 39,404 (195) - 39,209 93.7%
New Zealand 2,299 31 - 2,330 63.3%
Qatar 1,372 42 - 1,414 90.3%
Ghana 6,753 298 - 7,051 99.7%
---------------- ---------- ------------------ ----------- ------------ --------
70,431 530 (410) 70,551 83.2%
---------------- ---------- ------------------ ----------- ------------ --------
AMAP 312,537 6,053 (410) 318,180 90.9%
---------------- ---------- ------------------ ----------- ------------ --------
Group 438,469 5,493 (410) 443,552 80.3%
---------------- ---------- ------------------ ----------- ------------ --------
Note:
1 Vodacom refers to the Group's interests in Vodacom Group Limited
and its subsidiaries, including those located outside of South
Africa.
2 Other movements relate to the restatement of the prepaid customer
base.
Fixed broadband customers - quarter ended 31 December 2014
(in thousands)
1 October Net additions/ Other 31 December
Country 2014 (disconnections) movements 2014
---------------- ---------- ------------------ ----------- ------------
Europe
Germany 5,256 101 - 5,357
Italy(1) 1,841 38 (123) 1,756
UK 62 2 - 64
Spain 2,706 70 - 2,776
---------------- ---------- ------------------ ----------- ------------
9,865 211 (123) 9,953
---------------- ---------- ------------------ ----------- ------------
Other Europe
Netherlands 48 8 - 56
Ireland 208 7 - 215
Portugal 276 23 - 299
Romania 58 (18) - 40
Greece(2) 19 2 454 475
Czech Republic 12 - - 12
Hungary - - - -
Albania - - - -
Malta 2 - - 2
---------------- ---------- ------------------ ----------- ------------
623 22 454 1,099
---------------- ---------- ------------------ ----------- ------------
Europe 10,488 233 331 11,052
---------------- ---------- ------------------ ----------- ------------
AMAP
India 4 - - 4
Vodacom(3) - - - -
---------------- ---------- ------------------ ----------- ------------
4 - - 4
---------------- ---------- ------------------ ----------- ------------
Other AMAP
Turkey 61 6 - 67
Egypt 205 5 - 210
New Zealand 426 (2) - 424
Qatar 7 - - 7
Ghana 30 (2) - 28
---------------- ---------- ------------------ ----------- ------------
729 7 - 736
---------------- ---------- ------------------ ----------- ------------
AMAP 733 7 - 740
---------------- ---------- ------------------ ----------- ------------
Group 11,221 240 331 11,792
---------------- ---------- ------------------ ----------- ------------
Note:
1 Other movements in Italy reflect the restatement of the customer base.
2 Other movements in Greece reflect the acquisition of Hellas Online SA on 25 November 2014.
3 Vodacom refers to the Group's interests in Vodacom Group
Limited and its subsidiaries, including those located outside of
South Africa.
OTHER INFORMATION
Notes
1. Vodafone, the Vodafone Portrait, the Vodafone Speechmark,
Vodacom, M-Pesa and Vodafone Red are trademarks of the Vodafone
Group. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the
trademarks of their respective owners.
2. All growth rates reflect a comparison to the quarter ended 31
December 2013 unless otherwise stated.
3. References to "the quarter" are to the quarter ended 31
December 2014 unless otherwise stated. References to the previous
quarter" are to the quarter ended 30 September 2014 unless
otherwise stated. References to the "year" or "current financial
year" are to the financial year ending 31 March 2015 and references
to the "prior financial year" are to the financial year ended 31
March 2014 unless otherwise stated.
4. All amounts marked with an "*" represent organic growth which
presents performance on a comparable basis, both in terms of merger
and acquisition activity and movements in foreign exchange
rates.
5. Reported growth is based on amounts in pounds sterling as
determined under IFRS.
6. Vodacom refers to the Group's interest Vodacom Group Limited
('Vodacom') in South Africa and its subsidiaries, including its
operations in the DRC, Lesotho, Mozambique and Tanzania.
7. Quarterly historical information including information for
service revenue, mobile customers, churn, voice usage, messaging
volumes, data volumes, ARPU, smartphones and fixed broadband
customers is provided in a spreadsheet available at
vodafone.com/investor.
Definitions of terms
Term Definition
------------------------- -------------------------------------------------
ARPU Average revenue per user, defined as mobile
in-bundle customer revenue plus mobile
out-of-bundle customer revenue and mobile
incoming revenue divided by average customers.
------------------------- -------------------------------------------------
EBITDA Operating profit excluding share of results
in associates, depreciation and amortisation,
gains/losses on the disposal of fixed
assets, impairment losses, restructuring
costs and other operating income and expense.
The Group's definition of EBITDA may not
be comparable with similarly titled measures
and disclosures by other companies.
------------------------- -------------------------------------------------
Mobile in-bundle revenue Represents revenue from bundles that include
a specified number of minutes, messages
or megabytes of data that can be used
for no additional charge, with some expectation
of recurrence. Includes revenue from all
contract bundles and add-ons lasting 30
days or more as well as revenue from prepay
bundles lasting seven days or more.
------------------------- -------------------------------------------------
Mobile out-of-bundle Revenue from minutes, messages or megabytes
of data which are in excess of the amount
included in customer bundles.
------------------------- -------------------------------------------------
Mobile incoming revenue Comprises revenue from termination rates
for voice and messaging to Vodafone customers.
------------------------- -------------------------------------------------
Free cash flow Operating free cash flow after cash flows
in relation to taxation, interest, dividends
received from associates and investments
and dividends paid to non-controlling
shareholders in subsidiaries, but before
restructuring costs and licence and spectrum
payments.
------------------------- -------------------------------------------------
For definitions of other terms please refer to pages 211 to 212
of the Group's annual report for the year ended 31 March 2014.
Forward-looking statements
This report 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, but are
not limited to: statements with respect to: expectations regarding
the Group's financial condition or results of operations, including
the Group Chief Executive's statement on the first page of this
report and the outlook for the 2015 financial year; expectations
for the Group's future performance generally, including EBITDA
growth and capital expenditure; statements relating to the Group's
Project Spring investment programme; expectations regarding the
operating environment and market conditions and trends, including
customer usage, competitive and macroeconomic pressures, price
trends and opportunities in specific geographic markets; intentions
and expectations regarding the development, launch and expansion of
products, services and technologies, either introduced by Vodafone
or by Vodafone in conjunction with third parties or by third
parties independently, including Vodafone Red, Smartpass, M-Pesa,
and the launch of a number of additional features; growth in
customers and usage; expectations regarding spectrum licence
acquisitions, including anticipated new 3G and 4G availability and
the customer uptake associated therewith; expectations regarding
adjusted operating profit, EBITDA margins, capital expenditure,
free cash flow, and foreign exchange rate movements; expectations
regarding the integration or performance of current and future
investments, associates, joint ventures, non-controlled interests
and newly acquired businesses, including KDG, CWW, TelstraClear,
Ono and Neotel; and the outcome and impact of regulatory and legal
proceedings involving Vodafone and of scheduled or potential
regulatory changes.
Forward-looking statements are sometimes, but not always,
identified by their use of a date in the future or such words as
"will", "anticipates", "aims", "could", "may", "should", "expects",
"believes", "intends", "plans" or "targets" (including in their
negative form). 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 may
or may not 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 its mobile services; greater than anticipated
competitive activity, from both existing competitors and new market
entrants, which could require changes to the Group's pricing
models, lead to customer churn, affect the relative appeal of the
Group's products and services as compared to those of its
competitors or make it more difficult for the Group to acquire new
customers; the impact of investment in network capacity and the
deployment of new technologies, or the rapid obsolescence of
existing technology; higher than expected costs or capital
expenditures; slower than expected customer growth and reduced
customer retention; changes in the spending patterns of new and
existing customers and the possibility that new products and
services offered by the Group will not be commercially accepted or
do not perform according to expectations; the Group's ability to
expand its spectrum position or renew or obtain necessary licences,
including for spectrum; the Group's ability to achieve cost
savings; the Group's ability to execute its strategy in fibre
deployment, network expansion, new product and service roll-outs,
mobile data, enterprise and broadband and in emerging markets;
changes in foreign exchange rates, including, in particular,
changes in the exchange rate of pounds sterling, the currency in
which the Group prepares its financial statements, to the euro, the
US dollar and other currencies in which the Group generates its
revenue, as well as changes in interest rates; the Group's ability
to realise benefits from entering into partnerships or joint
ventures and entering into service franchising and brand licensing;
unfavourable consequences to the Group of making and integrating
acquisitions or disposals; changes to the regulatory framework in
which the Group operates, including possible action by regulators
in markets in which the Group operates or by the EU to regulate
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; loss of suppliers; or
disruption of supply chains or unfavourable developments in the
availability or prices of commodities and raw materials;
developments in the Group's financial condition, earnings and
distributable funds and other factors that the Board takes into
account when determining levels of dividends; the Group's ability
to satisfy working capital and other requirements through access to
bank facilities, funding in the capital markets and its operations;
changes in statutory tax rates or profit mix which might impact the
Group's weighted average tax rate; and/or changes in tax
legislation or final resolution of open tax issues which might
impact the Group's tax payments or effective tax rate.
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
"Forward-looking statements" and "Principal risk factors and
uncertainties" in the Group's annual report for the year ended 31
March 2014. The annual report can be found on the Group's website
(vodafone.com/investor). All subsequent written or oral
forward-looking statements attributable to the Company, to any
member of the Group or to 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. Subject to compliance
with applicable law and regulations, Vodafone does not intend to
update these forward-looking statements and does not undertake any
obligation to do so.
For further information:
Vodafone Group Plc
Investor Relations Media Relations
Telephone: +44 7919 990 230 www.vodafone.com/media/contact
Copyright (c) Vodafone Group 2015
- ends -
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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