Trading update for the quarter ended 31 December 2017
Highlights
- Group total revenue down 3.6% to €11.8 billion due to deconsolidation of Vodafone Netherlands and FX movements
- Organic service revenue grew 1.1%* to €10.2 billion, a similar performance to the prior quarter (1.3%*)
- European growth moderated to 0.3%*, or 1.9%* excluding the drag from regulation1 and UK handset financing; robust performance in Germany was offset by lapping of tariff changes in Italy and higher promotional intensity in Spain
- AMAP growth accelerated to 6.8%*, driven by broad based improvement at Vodacom
- India declined by 23.1%* due to intense price competition and lower termination rates (-14.2%* excl. MTRs)
- Sustained data growth of 61%: ‘more-for-more’ propositions supporting contract ARPU in Europe
- Strong fixed momentum: 379,000 broadband net adds (of which 529,000 NGN) and 177,000 converged net adds
- Enterprise growth of 0.4%*, or 1.6%* excluding regulation, led by IoT growth of 18.8%*
- Full year guidance reiterated: organic adjusted EBITDA growth of around 10%, FCF pre-spectrum to exceed €5 billion
Group total revenue down 3.6% to €11.8 billion due to deconsolidation of Vodafone Netherlands and FX movements
Vittorio Colao, Group Chief Executive, commented:
‘‘We have maintained good commercial momentum in the third quarter. Data usage continues to grow strongly, and we have now passed the 100 million 4G customer milestone. We made strong progress with our fixed and convergence strategy, achieving our best ever quarter for customer growth in high speed broadband in Europe. We also continued to grow our Enterprise business – boosted by our world-leading Internet of Things platform – despite the impact of regulation.
As a result our service revenue growth was similar to last quarter. An improved performance at Vodacom helped to offset a more promotional quarter in some European countries, particularly in Spain. While the competitive and regulatory environment in India remains intense, we continue to make good progress in securing the required approvals for the merger with Idea Cellular, and we have taken steps to strengthen the combined company’s financial position.
Overall, this consistent performance underpins our confidence that we will meet our guidance for the full year’’.
| Quarter ended 31 December | Growth | |||
| 2017 €m | Restated2 2016 €m | Reported % | Organic* % | |
| Group revenue2 | 11,797 | 12,239 | (3.6) | |
| Europe | 8,631 | 8,878 | (2.8) | |
| Africa, Middle East & Asia Pacific ('AMAP') | 2,864 | 3,035 | (5.6) | |
| Alternative performance measures3 | ||||
| Group service revenue2 | 10,189 | 10,855 | (6.1) | 1.1 |
| Europe | 7,649 | 8,063 | (5.1) | 0.3 |
| AMAP | 2,338 | 2,528 | (7.5) | 6.8 |
Notes to Editors:
* All amounts in this document 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. Organic growth is an alternative performance measure. See “Alternative performance measures” on page 8 for further details and reconciliations to the respective closest equivalent GAAP measure.
- Regulation is defined as the impact of industry specific law and regulations covering telecommunication services. See “Definition of terms” on page 11 for further details.
- The results for the quarter ended 31 December 2016 have been restated to exclude the results of Vodafone India which has been classified as discontinued operations for Group reporting purposes following the agreement to combine with Idea Cellular. Group revenue and service revenue include the regional results of Europe, AMAP, Other (which includes the results of partner market activities) and Eliminations.
- Alternative performance measures are non-GAAP measures that are presented to provide readers with additional financial information that is regularly reviewed by management and should not be viewed in isolation or as an alternative to the equivalent GAAP measure. See “Alternative performance measures” on page 8 for more information and reconciliations to the closest respective equivalent GAAP measure and “Definition of terms” on page 11 for further details.
For further information
Vodafone Group, Media Relations
www.vodafone.com/media/contact
Investor Relations
Telephone: +44 (0) 7919 990 230
Q3-17-18-Trading-Update-FINAL.pdf Q3_17-18_Web_Spreadsheet-FINAL.xlsx
About Vodafone Group
Vodafone Group is one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies and provides a range of services including voice, messaging, data and fixed communications. Vodafone Group has mobile operations in 26 countries, partners with mobile networks in 49 more, and fixed broadband operations in 19 markets. As of 31 December 2017, Vodafone Group had 529.1 million mobile customers and 19.3 million fixed broadband customers, including India and all of the customers in Vodafone’s joint ventures and associates. For more information, please visit: www.vodafone.com
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