25th Jul 2005 07:00
Vodafone Group Plc25 July 2005 25 July 2005 VODAFONE REACHES 165 MILLION PROPORTIONATE CUSTOMERS Vodafone Group Plc ("Vodafone") announces today key performance indicators,presented under IFRS, for the quarter ended 30 June 2005. The main highlightsare: • Organic growth of 8.6% in proportionate mobile revenues year on year • Strong growth in customers with over 4.1 million organic net additions, 35% higher than for the same period last year • Total proportionate customer base now over 165 million, representing organic growth of 12.3% year on year, and including an additional 6 million customers added in Romania and the Czech Republic through the closing of the TIW transaction • Additional 1.1 million registered 3G devices, including 1 million consumer 3G devices. Total 3G devices now at 3.3 million, with 2.9 million consumer 3G devices • Vodafone continuing to differentiate with the launch of several new propositions, including Vodafone Simply and Vodafone Travel Promise • Over 1.3 billion shares repurchased in the financial year to date at a cost of £1.9 billion Arun Sarin, Chief Executive of Vodafone, commented: "We have seen strong performances across Europe and in the US, and we continueto focus on improving our business in Japan. 3G is building momentum with overone million more registered devices in the quarter. Vodafone has delivered another impressive quarter of customer growth, with 4.1million organic net additions. Our proportionate customer base, now over 165million, has seen organic growth of 12.3% from a year ago. Proportionate mobilerevenues were also strong and delivered 8.6% organic growth year on year. Overall these KPIs are in line with our expectations and we are thereforereiterating our guidance for the full year to March 2006." Germany Vodafone Germany delivered a quarter of strong customer growth with 497,000 netadditions, taking the total base to 27.7 million, 8.8% higher year on year.Blended annual churn was stable compared to that at March, with a smallimprovement in contract offset by a slight increase in prepaid. Blended annual ARPU for the year to June was €295 compared to €299 for the yearto March. The impact of lower spending new customers, as well as the effect oftermination rate reductions, continues to offset ARPU increases from minutebundle plans and new services. Strong customer growth was the primary driver behind the 4.1% increase inservice revenue for the quarter compared to the same quarter last year.Non-voice service revenue increased by 11.7% year on year, including an 83%increase in non-messaging data revenue, with Vodafone live! users increasing to5.2 million and registered 3G devices exceeding 0.5 million. Net acquisition and retention costs as a percentage of service revenue in thequarter were lower than the same period last year and the quarter to March dueto a higher proportion of lower spending, and therefore lower subsidy, customeradditions. Italy Proportionate net customer additions were 204,000 in the quarter. The totalproportionate customer base was 17.5 million at the end of June, 6.4% higheryear on year on an organic basis. Blended annual ARPU increased to €360 for theyear to June compared to €359 for the year to March. Annual churn increasedslightly when compared to March. Service revenue for the quarter increased 6.5% compared to the same period lastyear, with continued customer growth being the primary driver. Non-voice servicerevenue increased by 18.4% year on year, including 50.7% growth in non-messagingdata revenue. Successful promotions and further penetration of Vodafone live!users, now at 2.5 million on a proportionate basis, have contributed to thisgrowth. Of the Group's European operations, Vodafone Italy has the highestnumber of 3G devices registered on its network at over 0.7 million on aproportionate basis. Net acquisition and retention costs as a percentage of service revenue in thequarter were higher than the same period last year and the quarter to March,reflecting the increase in competitive activity in the Italian market and aparticular focus on attracting and retaining high value customers. However,these costs still remain at very low levels when compared to the rest of theGroup. United Kingdom Vodafone UK regained momentum in the quarter with 165,000 net customers added,taking the total base to 15.5 million customers, an increase of 8.9% year onyear. Annual churn increased slightly compared to March, driven in large part byan increase in prepaid churn. Blended annual ARPU reduced to £300 from £306 forthe year to June compared to the year to March, principally due to the impact ofthe reduction in incoming call termination rates. The growth in average customers was substantially offset by the fall in ARPUresulting in service revenue growth of 0.6% for the quarter when compared to thesame quarter last year. Excluding the effect of the reduction in terminationrates, service revenue grew by 4.5%. Non-voice service revenue increased by11.9% year on year, including a 50.7% increase in non-messaging data revenue.Vodafone live!, with users now at 3.7 million, and Vodafone Mobile Connect werethe drivers behind this strong growth. Net acquisition and retention costs as a percentage of service revenue in thequarter were higher than the same period last year and the quarter to March dueto increased customer growth and upgrade activity. Japan The closing proportionate customer base in Japan was 14.6 million. VodafoneJapan recorded positive net additions of 5,000 in June, but a net reduction of72,000 for the quarter. Annual churn levels fell slightly compared to March,benefiting from the continued investment in customer retention activities andthe introduction of new price plans and promotions. Blended annual ARPU fell to Y73,034 for the year to June from Y73,780 for theyear to March, reflecting the competition in the market. The rate of ARPUdecline has reduced, driven by an improving mix of customers who have beenacquired compared to those who have churned. Service revenue for the quarter decreased by 4.1% compared to the same quarterlast year, primarily due to the fall in ARPU. Non-voice service revenue wasstable year on year, having declined in each quarter of the previous financialyear. This was primarily due to the increasing 3G customer base, with higherdata usage, that has reached nearly 1.2 million. Net acquisition and retention costs as a percentage of service revenue in theperiod were higher than the same quarter last year but were lower than in thequarter to March. This is primarily due to retention costs being higher year onyear, albeit at a lower level than the prior quarter. Spain Vodafone Spain continued to perform very strongly, adding a further 368,000 netcustomers in the quarter to June. At the end of June, the total customer basestood at 11.8 million customers, an increase of 18.9% year on year. Theproportion of contract customers in the base continues to increase and churn hasimproved both quarter on quarter and year on year. Blended annual ARPU increased to €421 for the year to June from €414 for to theyear to March, benefiting from the focus on high value customers. The strong growth in customers and ARPU generated service revenue growth of26.2% year on year. Service revenue growth has now exceeded 20% year on year forsix successive quarters. Voice revenues increased by 24% year on year, driven byan improving customer mix and higher usage. Non-voice service revenue increasedby 42.1% year on year, with messaging revenue increasing by over 30% andnon-messaging data revenue more than doubling. Vodafone live! users increased by over 500,000 in the quarter to reach a totalof 3.5 million, representing the highest penetration, as a percentage of totalcustomers, of Vodafone live! in the Group. Notwithstanding the continued strong growth and focus on high value customers,net acquisition and retention costs as a percentage of service revenue in theperiod were lower than both the same quarter last year and the quarter to March. Other Mobile Operations The Group has 13 other subsidiaries, which increased from 11 at March with theinclusion of Romania and the Czech Republic. MobiFon in Romania increased its venture customer base to over 5.2 million inthe quarter, more than 28% higher year on year. In the Czech Republic, Oskarincreased its venture customer base to more than 1.9 million, representinggrowth of over 16% year on year. On a proportionate basis, the Group's other subsidiaries delivered organicgrowth in customers of 14.8% and in service revenue of 6.7%, with particularlystrong service revenue performances in Egypt and Hungary, both growing in excessof 20%, and New Zealand which recorded double digit growth. Vodacom in South Africa produced proportionate net additions of 574,000,bringing the proportionate closing base to 5.7 million, over 35% higher year onyear on an organic basis. Vodacom launched Vodafone live! with 3G in April. Verizon Wireless recorded net additions of over 1.9 million, the highest levelsince its formation in April 2000, with the Group's proportionate share at850,000. In France, the Group's proportionate share of SFR's customer base increased to7.1 million, representing organic growth of 8% year on year. On a proportionatebasis, SFR has 1.3 million registered Vodafone live! customers and over 130,000Vodafone live! with 3G registered devices. - ends - For further information: Vodafone GroupSimon Lewis, Group Corporate Affairs DirectorTel: +44 (0) 1635 673310 Investor Relations Media RelationsCharles Butterworth Bobby LeachDarren Jones Ben PadovanSarah MoriartyTel: +44 (0) 1635 673310 Tel: +44 (0) 1635 673310 Notes to editors (1) The guidance for the year to March 2006 is contained in Vodafone's Preliminary Results Announcement for the year ended 31 March 2005 in which there is a discussion of forward-looking statements and the risks associated with them. (2) At the country level, service revenue growth is calculated in local currency and before the elimination of intercompany revenue. At the Group and Other Mobile Operations levels, service revenue growth is calculated at constant exchange rates and after the elimination of intercompany revenue. (3) Vodafone, Vodafone live!, Vodafone Simply and Vodafone Mobile Connect are trademarks of the Vodafone Group. (4) References in this press release to "June" and "March" shall, unless the context requires otherwise, be deemed to be references to 30 June 2005 and 31 March 2005 respectively. VODAFONE GROUP PLC - MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUSINESSES PROPORTIONATE CUSTOMERS - 1 APRIL 2005 TO 30 JUNE 2005 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COUNTRY PERCENTAGE AT 1 APRIL NET OTHER AT 30 JUNE PREPAID(3) OWNERSHIP(1) 2005 ADDITIONS MOVEMENTS(2) 2005 (%) ('000s) ('000s) ('000s) ('000s) (%)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Principal Markets Germany 100.0% 27,223 497 - 27,720 52%Italy(2)(5) 76.9% 17,280 204 15 17,499 92%Japan 97.7% 14,692 (72) - 14,620 11%Spain 100.0% 11,472 368 - 11,840 52%UK 100.0% 15,324 165 - 15,489 61% ------------------------------------------------- 85,991 1,162 15 87,168Other Subsidiaries Albania 99.9% 648 22 - 670 97%Australia 100.0% 2,731 160 - 2,891 71%CzechRepublic(2) 99.9% - 19 1,930 1,949 50%Egypt 50.1% 2,072 183 - 2,255 86%Greece 99.8% 3,996 164 - 4,160 66%Hungary 100.0% 1,735 62 - 1,797 75%Ireland 100.0% 1,952 29 - 1,981 73%Malta 100.0% 167 3 - 170 90%Netherlands 99.9% 3,789 71 - 3,860 56%New Zealand 100.0% 1,891 38 - 1,929 78%Portugal 100.0% 3,586 77 - 3,663 78%Romania(2) 99.1% - 105 5,098 5,203 65%Sweden 100.0% 1,541 (17) - 1,524 37% ------------------------------------------------- 24,108 916 7,028 32,052Other Joint Ventures Fiji 49.0% 76 4 - 80 93%Kenya 35.0% 879 97 - 976 98%Poland 19.6% 1,443 102 - 1,545 54%Romania(2) - 1,010 - (1,010) - -South Africa 35.0% 5,087 574 - 5,661 88% ------------------------------------------------- 8,495 777 (1,010) 8,262Associates & Investments Belgium 25.0% 1,073 4 - 1,077 60%China 3.3% 6,994 324 - 7,318 73%France 43.9% 7,011 90 - 7,101 45%Switzerland 25.0% 993 15 - 1,008 37%UnitedStates(2)(4) 44.4% 20,173 850 2 21,025 5% ------------------------------------------------- 36,244 1,283 2 37,529 TOTAL 154,838 4,138 6,035 165,011 61% (1) All ownership percentages are stated as at 30 June 2005 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 for the quarter to 30 June 2005 represents a stake increase of 0.1% in Vodafone Italy from 76.8% to 76.9%, the acquisition of 99.9% of the share capital of Oskar Mobil a.s. in the Czech Republic, the acquisition of local network operators by Verizon Wireless and a stake increase of 79.0% in MobiFon S.A. in Romania from 20.1% to 99.1%. At 1 April 2005, MobiFon S.A. was a joint venture and, following the stake increase, is now a subsidiary. (3) Prepaid customer percentages are calculated on a venture basis. At 30 June 2005, there were 450.9 million total venture customers. (4) The Group's ownership in Verizon Wireless is 45.0%. However, the Group's proportionate customer base has been adjusted for Verizon Wireless's proportionate ownership of its customer base across all its network interests of approximately 98.6% at 30 June 2005. In the absence of acquired interests, this proportionate ownership will vary slightly from quarter to quarter depending on the underlying mix of net additions across each of these networks. (5) Under IFRS, Vodafone Italy is treated as a joint venture. VODAFONE GROUP PLC - MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUSINESSES VODAFONE LIVE! ACTIVE DEVICES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------COUNTRY AT 1 APRIL 2005 NET ADDITIONS AT 30 JUNE 2005 ('000s) ('000s) ('000s)------------------------------------------------------------------------------Principal MarketsGermany 4,845 344 5,189Italy(1) 2,113 432 2,545Japan 12,845 (67) 12,778Spain 2,992 519 3,511UK 3,443 295 3,738 ----------------------------------------------- 26,238 1,523 27,761 Other Subsidiariesand Joint Ventures 3,988 638 4,626 -----------------------------------------------Group StatutoryTotal(1) 30,226 2,161 32,387 The table above only includes Vodafone live! customers in the Group's subsidiaryand joint venture undertakings. There were an additional 3.8 million registeredVodafone live! venture customers in our associated undertakings at 30 June 2005(31 March 2005: 3.2 million). (1) The Group previously reported 30,864,000 Vodafone live! active devices at 31March 2005. Under IFRS, Vodafone Italy is now treated as a joint venture inwhich the Group had a 76.8% ownership interest at 31 March 2005. The figures inthe table above represent the Group's pro-rata share of Vodafone live! activedevices in Vodafone Italy. This has resulted in a reduction to the comparativefigure at 1 April 2005 of 638,000 compared to the figure previously reported.The Group's other joint ventures did not offer the Vodafone live! service at 31March 2005. 3G DEVICES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------COUNTRY AT 1 APRIL 2005 NET ADDITIONS AT 30 JUNE 2005 ('000s) ('000s) ('000s)------------------------------------------------------------------------------Principal MarketsGermany 358 170 528Italy(1) 511 209 720Japan(2) 798 371 1,169Spain 88 72 160UK 190 92 282 ---------------------------------------------- 1,945 914 2,859Other Subsidiariesand Joint Ventures 253 146 399 ----------------------------------------------Group StatutoryTotal(1) 2,198 1,060 3,258 (1) The Group previously reported 2,352,000 3G devices at 31 March 2005. Under IFRS, Vodafone Italy is now treated as a joint venture in which the Group had a 76.8% ownership interest at 31 March 2005. The figures in the table above represent the Group's pro-rata share of 3G devices in Vodafone Italy. This has resulted in a reduction to the comparative figure at 1 April 2005 of 154,000 compared to the figure previously reported. The Group's other joint ventures did not have any 3G devices at 31 March 2005. (2) The number of 3G devices in Japan reported in the table above excludes 130,000 devices (31 March 2005: 119,000) which use the 3G network but are not capable of accessing 3G data services. VODAFONE GROUP PLC - MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUSINESSES MONTHLY REGISTERED BLENDED ARPU FOR THE 15 MONTHS TO 30 JUNE 2005 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------COUNTRY Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov 2004 2004 2004 2004 2004 2004 2004 2004-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Germany EUR 25.0 25.5 25.8 26.4 25.9 25.7 25.5 24.6Italy(1) EUR 29.9 30.1 30.8 31.0 29.6 30.2 30.3 28.9Japan JPY 6,300 6,150 6,150 6,470 6,380 6,210 6,280 5,970Spain EUR 32.9 33.9 35.4 38.5 36.4 35.2 34.8 32.6UK GBP 25.3 27.8 26.8 27.3 26.8 25.8 25.6 24.6 ----------------------------------------------------------------------COUNTRY Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun 2004 2005 2005 2005 2005 2005 2005----------------------------------------------------------------------Germany EUR 24.5 23.7 21.9 24.5 24.0 24.4 24.6Italy(1) EUR 31.2 29.2 27.1 30.9 29.4 30.8 30.9Japan JPY 6,200 5,870 5,650 6,140 5,970 5,940 5,940Spain EUR 35.1 33.6 31.4 34.9 34.8 36.2 37.4UK GBP 24.4 24.1 22.9 25.4 24.4 24.5 24.9 ARPU INFORMATION FOR THE 12 MONTH PERIOD TO 30 JUNE 2005 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------COUNTRY CURRENCY REGISTERED REGISTERED REGISTERED PREPAID CONTRACT TOTAL-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Principal Markets Germany EUR 115 477 295Italy(1) EUR 306 921 360Japan JPY 30,253 77,573 73,034Spain EUR 183 690 421UK GBP 121 559 300 Other Subsidiaries Albania ALL 19,659 287,283 28,236Australia AUD 320 1,054 595Czech Republic CZK 3,952 11,881 7,723Egypt EGP 785 3,142 1,188Greece EUR 195 785 394Hungary HUF 39,866 139,615 62,484Ireland EUR 379 1,199 609Malta MTL 91 877 166Netherlands EUR 141 841 447New Zealand NZD 326 1,726 625Portugal EUR 187 704 326Romania USD 67 330 167Sweden SEK 678 5,509 3,759 HISTORIC ARPU INFORMATION TOTAL ARPU FOR THE 12 MONTH PERIOD TO -------------------------------------------------------COUNTRY 30 JUNE 30 SEPTEMBER 31 DECEMBER 31 MARCH 30 JUNE 2004(2) 2004(2) 2004(2) 2005(2) 2005------------------------------------------------------------------------------Principal Markets Germany EUR 309 305 303 299 295Italy(1) EUR 362 360 360 359 360UK GBP 314 318 314 306 300Japan JPY 78,365 76,590 75,133 73,780 73,034Spain EUR 389 400 408 414 421 (1) Under IFRS, Vodafone Italy is treated as a joint venture. (2) There are no changes to the comparative ARPU figures calculated in accordance with IFRS and those previously reported under UK GAAP. VODAFONE GROUP PLC - MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUSINESSES NON-VOICE SERVICES AS A PERCENTAGE OF SERVICE REVENUE 12 MONTH PERIOD TO 30 JUNE 2005 -------------------------------------------------COUNTRY MESSAGING DATA TOTAL------------------------------------------------------------------------------Principal Markets Germany 14.9% 3.5% 18.4%Italy 13.2% 1.8% 15.0%Japan 6.5% 15.3% 21.8%Spain 11.6% 2.4% 14.0%UK 15.4% 3.5% 18.9% Group Statutory Total 12.1% 4.8% 16.9% NON-VOICE SERVICES AS A PERCENTAGE OF SERVICE REVENUE - HISTORY 12 MONTH PERIOD TO ---------------------------------------------------------COUNTRY 30 JUNE 30 SEPTEMBER 31 DECEMBER 31 MARCH 30 JUNE 2004(1) 2004(1) 2004(1) 2005(1) 2005-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Principal Markets Germany 17.4% 17.6% 17.7% 18.1% 18.4%Italy 13.5% 14.1% 14.4% 14.6% 15.0%Japan 21.9% 21.8% 21.4% 21.5% 21.8%Spain 11.8% 12.4% 13.1% 13.7% 14.0%UK 16.6% 17.3% 17.9% 18.4% 18.9% Group StatutoryTotal(1) 16.0% 16.3% 16.4% 16.7% 16.9% (1) Comparative Group Statutory Total figures have been restated to reflect the change from UK GAAP to IFRS at 30 June 2004, 30 September 2004, 31 December 2004 and 31 March 2005 from 16.3%, 16.5%, 16.7% and 17.0% to 16.0%, 16.3%, 16.4% and 16.7%, respectively. ACTIVE CUSTOMER INFORMATION ACTIVE CUSTOMERS AT ---------------------------------------------------------COUNTRY 30 JUNE 30 SEPTEMBER 31 DECEMBER 31 MARCH 30 JUNE 2004(2) 2004(2) 2004(2) 2005(2) 2005-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Principal Markets Germany 93% 92% 92% 91% 90%Italy 92% 92% 92% 92% 92%Japan 97% 97% 97% 96% 97%Spain 97% 92% 92% 93% 93%UK 91% 91% 90% 89% 89% Group StatutoryTotal(1)(2) 93% 92% 92% 92% 91% (1) An active customer is defined as one who has made or received a chargeable event in the last 3 months. The Group's joint venture in Kenya and its subsidiary in the Czech Republic are currently unable to measure active customers under this basis and so have been excluded from the calculation of the Group Statutory Total activity percentages in the table above. (2) Comparative Group Statutory Total figures have been restated to reflect the change from UK GAAP to IFRS. The only impact of the change has been to decrease the Group Statutory Total active customer percentage at 30 September 2004 by 1%. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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