Vodafone Group Plc ⫶ Q3 FY21 trading update
3 February 2021
Return to service revenue growth and FY21 guidance reiterated
• Resilient trading performance, with service revenue growth of 0.4%* (Q2: -0.4%*)
• Continued commercial momentum, despite further lockdown measures
• Germany service revenue growth of 1.0%* (Q2: -0.1%*), with growth across all segments in the market
• Deepening customer engagement with year-to-date Europe mobile contract churn 1.1 percentage points lower
year-on-year
• Strong demand for high-speed connectivity, with 330,000 NGN broadband customer additions in Europe during
the quarter, bringing year-to-date total NGN additions to over 1.1 million
Q3 performance summary
Q3 FY21
Q3 FY20
Reported
Organic
€m
€m
growth
growth
1
Service revenue
1
Total Europe
7,404
7,586
(2.4)%
(1.1)%
- of which Germany
2,912
2,883
1.0%
1.0%
Vodacom
1,056
1,162
(9.1)%
3.3%
Other Markets
806
891
(9.5)%
12.3%
Other / Eliminations
91
94
Total service revenue
9,357
9,733
(3.9)%
0.4%
Other revenue
1,844
2,017
Total revenue
11,201
11,750
(4.7)%
(0.3)%
1. Service revenue and organic growth are alternative performance measures. See page 8 for further details.
• Underlying trends excluding the impact from lower roaming and visitors were broadly similar quarter-on-quarter
• Reaffirming FY21 guidance with Adjusted EBITDA expected to be between €14.4 – €14.6 billion and free cash flow
of at least €5 billion (pre-spectrum and restructuring)
Nick Read, Group Chief Executive, commented:
“I am pleased the Group returned to service revenue growth in Q3 as a result of the continued commercial momentum
across our business, including our largest market Germany. Our good trading performance underscores our confidence
in the outlook for the full year. We have made further progress on our strategic priorities, including the IPO of Vantage
Towers in early 2021, which remains firmly on track and will now include our 50% shareholding in the UK towers joint
venture with Telefonica.
Our networks have successfully delivered another quarter of record data traffic as many countries continue to endure
COVID-19 lockdowns and customers depend on our services. We have achieved this while further reducing our carbon
footprint and we are making fast progress towards our important target of having our European networks wholly
powered by renewable electricity by July this year.
I continue to be proud of the hard work of my colleagues, and that of the industry more broadly, who have kept societies
connected and supported key sectors such as education and healthcare. Vodafone has now contributed over €150
million since the start of the pandemic, through direct contributions and in-kind services to those in need, and we will
continue to help society recover and build back stronger.”
For more information, please contact:
Registered Office: Vodafone House, The Connection, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2FN, England. Registered in England No. 1833679
A webcast Q&A session will be held at 10:00 on 3 February 2021. The webcast and supporting information can be accessed at investors.vodafone.com
Vodafone Group Plc ⫶ Q3 FY21 trading update
2
Operating review ⫶ Maintaining commercial momentum during lockdowns
During the quarter, we continued to make progress against our strategic priorities to deepen engagement with our
customers, accelerate our transformation to a digital first organisation, improve the utilisation of our assets, and
optimise our portfolio.
Strategic progress summary
Units
Q3 FY21
Q3 FY20
1.
Deepening customer engagement
Europe mobile contract customers
1
million
65.4
64.2
Europe broadband customers
1
million
25.5
24.7
Europe Consumer converged customers
1
million
7.5
7.0
Europe on-net Gigabit capable connections
1
million
40.7
25.5
Europe mobile contract customer churn
2
%
15.0
15.0
Business fixed-line service revenue growth
%
5.2
4.4
IoT SIM connections
million
118
99
Africa data users
3
million
85.8
85.1
M-Pesa transaction volume
billion
4.2
3.2
2.
Accelerating digital transformation
Europe digital channel sales mix
4
%
26
21
Europe frequency of customer contacts p.a.
#
1.4
1.5
Europe MyVodafone app penetration
%
62
65
3.
Improving asset utilisation
Average Europe monthly mobile data usage per customer
GB
6.7
4.5
Europe on-net NGN broadband penetration
1
%
30.2
29.7
1. Including VodafoneZiggo | 2. Q3 FY20 excludes inactive SIM impact in Italy | 3. Africa including Safaricom, Ghana & Egypt | 4. Germany, Italy, UK and Spain only
In Consumer, we are competing effectively across all market segments, with speed-tiered unlimited mobile data plans
driving ARPU accretion at the high end, and with second brands in the value segment. We now have 10 million active
unlimited mobile data customers across 10 markets. In fixed broadband, there has been strong demand for high-speed
connectivity, with over 1.1 million NGN broadband customers added in Europe year-to-date, taking our total NGN
broadband base to 22.6 million.
In Business, we have continued to provide SME, large, multi-national and public sector customers with a full suite of
next-generation connectivity services in order to keep them connected. Service revenue grew 0.7%* (Q2: -0.2%*) and
we added a record six million IoT SIM connections. During the quarter, we announced a strategic partnership with
RingCentral and will be launching a joint cloud-based Unified Communications as a Service solution in 2021. We also
announced the first Multi-access Edge Computing pilots in Europe, in partnership with Amazon Web Services
Wavelength. We will share further insight into Vodafone Business with a virtual investor briefing and live Q&A session
hosted by Vinod Kumar (Vodafone Business CEO) on 18 March 2021.
Our investments in digital platforms have led to an increasing share of digital sales, with 50% of new iPhone sales in
the UK completed digitally. The MyVodafone app has helped us stay connected with our customers; the app now has
40 million unique customers and receives 500 million visits per month. In January, we announced a new long-term,
multi-platform agreement with Discovery, Inc, under which approximately 100 million Vodafone customers in Europe
will be able to enjoy Discovery’s unique content portfolio across TV and streaming services.
We have continued to improve our asset utilisation through network sharing. During the quarter, Vodafone Germany
signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Telefonica Deutschland, outlining a proposed reciprocal network
sharing agreement to improve 4G coverage in areas where only one party operates (‘grey spots’).
In December 2020, Vodafone’s wholly owned subsidiary, Vodafone Vierte Verwaltungs AG, announced a settlement
with three minority shareholders and launched a tender offer to the remaining shareholders of Kabel Deutschland
Holding AG (‘KDG’). Through irrevocable undertakings with three minority KDG shareholders, Vodafone will own at least
93.8% of the outstanding share capital of KDG following completion of the offer. The transaction will be immediately
accretive for both Adjusted EPS and Free Cash Flow per share and will be neutral to our credit rating.
The Vantage Towers IPO remains on track and the team will present its Q3 trading update on 15 February 2021.
Vodafone Group Plc ⫶ Q3 FY21 trading update
3
Our Purpose ⫶ We connect for a better future
We believe that Vodafone has a significant role to play in building a digital society that enhances socio-economic
progress, embraces everyone and does not come at the cost of the planet. Our sustainable business strategy helps
deliver our 2025 targets across three pillars: Digital Society; Inclusion for All; and Planet.
Our significant role has become even more evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, as our essential network
infrastructure has been critical in enabling people to work, allowing businesses to remain operational, supporting
emergency services and giving access to education. Through our essential network infrastructure, we have kept people
and societies connected. We have also donated over €150 million to support those affected by the crisis through direct
contributions and services in-kind, supporting millions of our customers, frontline workers and citizens. The Vodafone
Foundation has also donated €10 million to local charities in our markets in the form of cash grants, gifts in-kind and
from employee donations via the community fund.
In November 2020, we announced a further update with respect to our long-term ambition to minimise our
environmental impact. We have committed to reducing our total global carbon emissions to ‘net zero’ by 2040 and
confirmed that our 2030 carbon reduction targets have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative. Our
targets are in line with reductions required to keep warming to 1.5°C, the most ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement.
This builds on a commitment we made in July 2020 to power 100% of our European network with renewable electricity
by July 2021, creating a ‘Green Gigabit Net’ for customers across 11 markets that will grow sustainably using only
power from wind, solar or hydro sources. Our accelerated shift to 100% renewable electricity on our European network
will also help our customers reduce their carbon emissions, particularly our Business customers, while helping to
create a healthier planet for everyone. By the end of December 2020, Germany, Italy and three of our Other Europe
markets were already procuring 100% of their electricity from renewable sources.
In December 2020, we were recognised by global environmental non-profit organisation CDP for our actions and
transparency with respect to our environmental impact and secured a place on CDP’s prestigious climate change ‘A
List’. This places us in the top 5% of companies that responded to CDP’s 2020 climate change questionnaire.
Vodafone Group Plc ⫶ Q3 FY21 trading update
4
Performance review ⫶ Return to growth, supported by Germany
• Resilient trading performance, with service revenue growth of 0.4%* (Q2: -0.4%*)
• Continued commercial momentum, despite further lockdown measures
• Germany service revenue growth of 1.0%* (Q2: -0.1%*), with growth across all segments in the market
• Reaffirming FY21 guidance with Adjusted EBITDA expected to be between €14.4 – €14.6 billion and free cash flow
of at least €5 billion (pre-spectrum and restructuring)
Q3 performance summary
Other
Total
Other
Germany
Italy
UK
Spain
Europe
Europe
1
Vodacom
markets
Group
1
€m
€m
€m
€m
€m
€m
€m
€m
€m
Q3 FY21
Service revenue
2
2,912
1,125
1,216
957
1,215
7,404
1,056
806
9,357
Other revenue
423
139
380
102
207
1,251
296
117
1,844
Total revenue
3,335
1,264
1,596
1,059
1,422
8,655
1,352
923
11,201
Organic service revenue growth (%)
2
1.0 %
(7.8)%
(0.4)%
(1.1)%
(0.7)%
(1.1)%
3.3 %
12.3 %
0.4 %
Q3 FY20
Service revenue
2
2,883
1,220
1,282
966
1,265
7,586
1,162
891
9,733
Other revenue
416
209
443
112
204
1,384
290
136
2,017
Total revenue
3,299
1,429
1,725
1,078
1,469
8,970
1,452
1,027
11,750
Notes:
1. See pages 9 to 11 for a full disaggregation of our financial results by geography, including intersegment eliminations.
2. Service revenue and organic growth are alternative performance measures. See page 8 for further details.
Further geographic performance information is available as a spreadsheet at investors.vodafone.com/reports-information/results-reports-presentations
All amounts in the commentary below 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 page 8 for further details.
Germany ⫶ Consistent commercial performance, with growth across all segments
Service revenue grew by 1.0%* (Q2: -0.1%*), with growth across all segments in the quarter. This was driven by our
consistent commercial performance, higher variable usage during the COVID-19 lockdown, a strong performance in
Business and a smaller decline in roaming and visitor revenue. The year-on-year impact from the decline in roaming
and visitor revenue was -1.0 percentage points in Q3 (Q2: -1.1 percentage points). Retail service revenue grew by 1.5%*
(Q2: +0.6%*).
Fixed service revenue grew by 1.4%* (Q2: +0.6%*), driven by customer base growth and ARPU accretive customer
upgrades to higher-speed plans, supported by higher variable usage during the pandemic lockdown. We added 98,000
cable broadband customers in Q3, including 35,000 migrations from legacy broadband DSL. A quarter of our cable
broadband customer base now subscribes to speeds of at least 400Mbps, and Gigabit speeds are now available to 22.3
million households on our cable broadband network. Our broadband customer base increased by 56,000 to 10.9
million despite our retail stores being closed in December due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our TV customer base declined by 75,000, in part reflecting the termination of a bulk contract. We launched the ‘DAZN’
pay-TV channel and our new Apple set-top box product during the quarter, which are beginning to support an improved
premium TV performance. However, retail sales activity was impacted by the December lockdown in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic. Our converged ‘GigaKombi’ proposition, which allows customers to combine their mobile,
landline, broadband and TV subscriptions for one monthly fee, continued to grow, with 28,000 Consumer additions in
the quarter. We now have over 1.6 million Consumer converged accounts.
Mobile service revenue increased by 0.5%* (Q2: -1.0%*), with the improvement driven by higher variable usage,
increased demand from business customers, and a smaller impact from the decline in roaming and visitor revenue,
partially offset by lower prepaid revenue. We added 99,000 contract customers in Q3 despite the lockdown, supported
by strong Consumer and public sector demand. Contract churn improved by 1.0 percentage points year-on-year to
12.0%. We added 122,000 prepaid customers, supported by our online-only proposition ‘CallYa Digital’.
Vodafone Group Plc ⫶ Q3 FY21 trading update
5
Italy, UK, Spain and Other Europe ⫶ Lower COVID impacts, with stable underlying performance
Italy
Service revenue declined by 7.8%* (Q2: -8.0%*) reflecting continued price competition in the low-value segment of
the mobile market and lower roaming and visitor revenue. The year-on-year impact from the decline in roaming and
visitor revenue was -1.9 percentage points in Q3 (Q2: -2.4 percentage points).
Market net mobile number portability (‘MNP’) volumes fell as a result of local lockdowns during the quarter. Our second
brand ‘ho.’ continued to grow strongly and now has 2.4 million customers. During the year, we signed mobile wholesale
agreements with PostePay and Digi, and we will begin to migrate these customers onto our network in Q4.
Fixed service revenue grew by 1.1%* (Q2: +4.8%), with the quarterly slowdown driven by the lapping of prior year price
increases. In fixed, we added 13,000 customers to our broadband customer base and we now have almost three million
broadband customers. Through our own next generation network and strategic partnership with Open Fiber, our
broadband services are now available to 8.3 million households. We also cover nearly three million other households
with fixed-wireless access.
UK
Service revenue decreased by 0.4%* (Q2: -0.5%*) as continued good commercial momentum in our Consumer and
Business segments was offset by the impact from the decline in roaming and visitor revenue of -2.3 percentage points
(Q2: -2.8 percentage points).
Our mobile contract customer base increased by 77,000 driven by strong iPhone demand in Consumer and higher
contract customer loyalty, with churn declining by 0.4 percentage points year-on-year to 14.4%. Our digital second
brand ‘VOXI’ continued to grow, with 52,000 customer additions during Q3, supported by the launch of our ‘endless
video’ proposition.
We had a good performance in fixed broadband, despite increased promotional activity during the Black Friday period,
with 38,000 net customer additions. We now have 876,000 broadband customers, of which 450,000 are converged
customers. Business demand for our SME and corporate products remained strong, including for our virtual call centres
and our productivity and security solutions, supported by our best-in-class Business net promoter scores.
To support our continued investment in our networks, products and services, we announced that annual price
increases of Consumer Price Index plus 3.9% will be applied to all broadband and mobile contracts signed from 9
December 2020, taking effect from April 2021.
During the quarter we also launched our ‘schools.connected’ programme with a goal of helping disadvantaged school
children access education from home. We have provided 350,000 free SIMs to schools and further education colleges
since the launch in November.
In December 2020, we announced that the CEO of Vodafone UK, Nick Jeffery, would leave in February 2021 to take up
a new position outside Vodafone. We have announced that Ahmed Essam will become the new CEO of Vodafone UK
effective 1 February and will remain on the Vodafone Group Executive Committee. Ahmed joined Vodafone in 1999
and has held a range of leadership roles across the Group, most recently as Group Chief Commercial Operations and
Strategy Officer.
In January 2021, we announced the commercialisation of Cornerstone, the 50:50 joint venture between Vodafone and
Telefonica (‘TEF UK’) that owns and manages both operators’ passive tower infrastructure in the UK. Vodafone UK and
TEF UK have each entered into long-term Master Services Agreements with Cornerstone. To facilitate the effective roll-
out of 5G technology and meet coverage obligations, Vodafone UK and TEF UK have agreed to commit as anchor
tenants on c.1,200 new macro sites to be constructed by Cornerstone and c.1,950 new passive tenancies on existing
macro sites operated by Cornerstone. Vodafone transferred its 50% shareholding in Cornerstone to Vantage Towers
on 14 January 2021.
Vodafone Group Plc ⫶ Q3 FY21 trading update
6
Spain
Service revenue declined by 1.1%* (Q2: -1.8%*) reflecting price competition in the market and the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic on roaming and visitor revenue. The quarter-on-quarter improvement was driven by a lower
impact from the decline in roaming and visitor revenue, partially offset by the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on the
hospitality sector during the quarter. The year-on-year impact from the decline in roaming and visitors was -1.7
percentage points in Q3 (Q2: -3.0 percentage points).
The market remained highly promotional in Q3, driving an increase in mobile number portability year-on-year. Our
mobile contract customer base decreased by 45,000 and mobile contract churn increased by 2.9 percentage points
year-on-year to 24.9%, partially reflecting the anticipated impact of our mid-November pricing actions. Commercial
trends improved towards the end of the quarter as seasonal promotions ended. Our second brand ‘Lowi’ continued to
compete effectively, with 49,000 net customer additions. Lowi now has 1.1 million customers.
Our broadband customer base declined by 22,000 reflecting the impact of our pricing actions and higher competitive
intensity during the promotional ‘back to school’ period, as well as the ‘catch-up’ in disconnections from the prior
quarter. Our extensive library of movies and TV series, as well as our new ‘boxless’ TV app proposition, supported
continued good customer growth in TV with 46,000 customers added in Q3.
In November 2020, we announced that Antonio Coimbra had stepped down as CEO of Vodafone Spain and was
appointed as Non-Executive Chairman. On the same day, Colman Deegan was appointed as the new CEO of Vodafone
Spain and joined the Vodafone Group Executive Committee. Colman joined Vodafone in 1998 and has held a range of
senior finance and leadership roles across the Group, most recently as CEO of Vodafone Turkey.
Other Europe
Service revenue declined by 0.7%* (Q2: -1.8%*) driven by lower roaming and visitor revenue and increased competition
in some markets. The quarter-on-quarter improvement reflects a lower impact from the decline in roaming and visitor
revenue and higher prepay usage as lockdown restrictions were eased, as well as improved performance in Ireland. The
impact from the decline in roaming and visitor revenue was -1.8 percentage points in Q3 (Q2: -2.5 percentage points).
In Portugal, service revenue was broadly stable at -0.1%* (Q2: +0.3%*) as fixed and mobile contract customer growth
was offset by lower roaming and visitor revenue. In October 2020, we announced a nationwide mobile network sharing
agreement with NOS, which will allow a faster and more efficient development of mobile networks across Portugal. In
Ireland, service revenue declined by 2.2%* (Q2: -6.1%*), with the sequential improvement driven by good performance
in Consumer and the anniversary of the prior year market repricing. Service revenue in Greece declined by 3.5%* (Q2:
-6.1%*) reflecting the decline in roaming and visitors and higher promotional activity.
We have continued to make good progress on integrating Liberty Global’s assets in Germany and Central Eastern
Europe and we remain on track to deliver our targeted synergies.
Vodafone Group Plc ⫶ Q3 FY21 trading update
7
Other Markets ⫶ Acceleration in trends
Service revenue in our Other Markets grew by 12.3%* (Q2: +9.0%*).
Service revenue in Turkey grew by 17.7%* (Q2: +13.9%*), ahead of inflation, reflecting an improvement in roaming and
visitor revenue, increased demand for mobile data and fixed broadband, and ‘more-for-more’ initiatives. We maintained
our good commercial momentum, with 315,000 mobile contract and 57,000 broadband net additions during the
quarter.
Service revenue in Egypt grew by 8.8%* (Q2: +4.9%*), ahead of inflation, supported by customer base growth, increased
mobile data usage, and the impact of a prior year settlement. In November 2020, we announced that Vodafone Egypt
had acquired 40MHz of 2.6Ghz spectrum, with a 10-year licence through to 2030. The spectrum will enable us to
significantly expand network capacity to meet growing demand for reliable, high quality voice and data services.
Vodacom ⫶ Strong demand in South Africa, with international markets recovering
Vodacom service revenue grew by 3.3%* (Q2: +3.2%*) with growth in South Africa partially offset by ongoing economic
pressure in Vodacom’s international markets.
In South Africa, service revenue grew by 5.4%* (Q2: +7.7%*) supported by increased demand for voice, data and
financial services. The slowdown in quarterly trends reflects the expiry of some special government social grants
introduced at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and a redirection of consumer discretionary spend as lockdown
measures eased. In South Africa, we added 29,000 contract customers, driven by strong business demand, and added
2.1 million prepaid customers supported by our successful ‘Shake-off’ campaign. Data traffic increased by 50% year-
on-year in Q3 and 47% of our customer base is now using data services. Our ‘ConnectU’ platform continues to promote
digital inclusion via zero-rated access to a wide range of websites, including job portals and online learning platforms,
with total unique users reaching 13.4 million as at 31 December 2020. In January 2021, we announced an expanded
roaming agreement with Cell-C with respect to its mobile contract and mobile broadband customers.
In Vodacom’s international markets, service revenue declined by 0.3%* (Q2: -4.9%*) reflecting ongoing economic
pressures. The improvement in quarterly trends was driven by the reinstatement of fees on person-to-person M-Pesa
transfers in Mozambique and improving economic activity in most markets. Digital adoption across Vodacom’s
international markets accelerated with higher M-Pesa volumes, M-Pesa revenue as a share of total service revenue
increasing by 1.7 percentage points to 22%, and 53% of our customer base is using data services. By January 2021, the
temporary zero-rating of fees on M-Pesa person-to-person transfers had ended across all Vodacom’s markets.
Vodafone Group Plc ⫶ Q3 FY21 trading update
8
Alternative performance measures
In the discussion of the Group’s reported operating results, alternative performance measures are presented to provide
readers with additional financial information that is regularly reviewed by management. This additional information
presented is not uniformly defined by all companies, including those in the Group’s industry. Accordingly, it may not
be comparable with similarly titled measures and disclosures by other companies. Additionally, certain information
presented is derived from amounts calculated in accordance with IFRS but is not itself an expressly permitted GAAP
measure. Such measures should not be viewed in isolation or as an alternative to the equivalent GAAP measure.
Service revenue
Service revenue comprises all revenue related to the provision of ongoing services including, but not limited to,
monthly access charges, airtime usage, roaming, incoming and outgoing network usage by non-Vodafone customers
and interconnect charges for incoming calls. We believe that it is both useful and necessary to report this measure for
the following reasons:
• It is used for internal performance reporting;
• It is used in setting director and management remuneration; and
• It is useful in connection with discussion with the investment community.
Organic growth
All amounts in this document marked with an “*” represent organic growth, which presents performance on a
comparable basis in terms of merger and acquisition activity and movements in foreign exchange rates.
Whilst this measure is not intended to be a substitute for reported growth, nor is it superior to reported growth, we
believe that the measure provides useful and necessary information to investors and other interested parties for the
following reasons:
• It provides additional information on underlying growth of the business without the effect of certain factors
unrelated to its operating performance;
• It is used for internal performance analysis; and
• It facilitates comparability of underlying growth with other companies (although the term “organic” is not a
defined term under IFRS and may not, therefore, be comparable with similarly titled measures reported by other
companies).
We have not provided a comparative in respect of organic growth rates as the current rates describe the change
between the beginning and end of the current period, with such changes being explained by the commentary in this
news release. If comparatives were provided, significant sections of the commentary from the news release for prior
periods would also need to be included, reducing the usefulness and transparency of this document.
Reconciliations of organic growth to reported growth are shown where used or in the tables overleaf.
Vodafone Group Plc ⫶ Q3 FY21 trading update
9
Reported
growth
Other
activity
(incl. M&A)
Foreign
exchange
Organic
growth*
Quarter ended 31 December
Q3 FY21
Q3 FY20
€m
€m
%
pps
pps
%
Service revenue
Germany
2,912
2,883
1.0
–
–
1.0
Mobile service revenue
1,279
1,273
0.5
–
–
0.5
Fixed service revenue
1,633
1,610
1.4
–
–
1.4
Italy
1,125
1,220
(7.8)
–
–
(7.8)
Mobile service revenue
818
916
(10.7)
–
–
(10.7)
Fixed service revenue
307
304
1.0
0.1
–
1.1
UK
1,216
1,282
(5.1)
–
4.7
(0.4)
Mobile service revenue
848
924
(8.2)
–
4.6
(3.6)
Fixed service revenue
368
358
2.8
–
5.1
7.9
Spain
957
966
(0.9)
(0.2)
–
(1.1)
Other Europe
1,215
1,265
(4.0)
1.5
1.8
(0.7)
Of which: Ireland
205
209
(1.9)
(0.3)
–
(2.2)
Of which: Portugal
247
248
(0.4)
0.3
–
(0.1)
Of which: Greece
211
219
(3.7)
0.2
–
(3.5)
Eliminations
(21)
(30)
Europe
7,404
7,586
(2.4)
0.2
1.1
(1.1)
Vodacom
1,056
1,162
(9.1)
–
12.4
3.3
Of which: South Africa
769
834
(7.8)
–
13.2
5.4
Of which: International operations
291
330
(11.8)
–
11.5
(0.3)
Other Markets
806
891
(9.5)
–
21.8
12.3
Of which: Turkey
388
481
(19.3)
–
37.0
17.7
Of which: Egypt
371
356
4.2
–
4.6
8.8
Other
115
117
(1.7)
–
(1.6)
(3.3)
Eliminations
(24)
(23)
Total service revenue
9,357
9,733
(3.9)
0.2
4.1
0.4
Other revenue
1,844
2,017
(8.6)
–
4.8
(3.8)
Revenue
11,201
11,750
(4.7)
0.2
4.2
(0.3)
Other growth metrics
Business - Service revenue
2,567
2,647
(3.0)
0.6
3.1
0.7
Germany - Retail revenue
2,832
2,791
1.5
–
–
1.5
Vodafone Group Plc ⫶ Q3 FY21 trading update
10
Reported
growth
Other
activity
(incl. M&A)
Foreign
exchange
Organic
growth*
Quarter ended 30 September
Q2 FY21
Q2 FY20
€m
€m
%
pps
pps
%
Service revenue
Germany
2,883
2,696
6.9
(7.0)
–
(0.1)
Mobile service revenue
1,277
1,289
(0.9)
(0.1)
–
(1.0)
Fixed service revenue
1,606
1,407
14.1
(13.5)
–
0.6
Italy
1,129
1,226
(7.9)
(0.1)
–
(8.0)
Mobile service revenue
823
934
(11.9)
–
–
(11.9)
Fixed service revenue
306
292
4.8
–
–
4.8
UK
1,208
1,218
(0.8)
–
0.3
(0.5)
Mobile service revenue
854
888
(3.8)
–
0.2
(3.6)
Fixed service revenue
354
330
7.3
–
0.5
7.8
Spain
960
978
(1.8)
–
–
(1.8)
Other Europe
1,240
1,264
(1.9)
(1.0)
1.1
(1.8)
Of which: Ireland
201
215
(6.5)
0.4
–
(6.1)
Of which: Portugal
255
254
0.4
(0.1)
–
0.3
Of which: Greece
222
237
(6.3)
0.2
–
(6.1)
Eliminations
(30)
(44)
Europe
7,390
7,338
0.7
(2.8)
0.3
(1.8)
Vodacom
999
1,139
(12.3)
–
15.5
3.2
Of which: South Africa
720
811
(11.2)
–
18.9
7.7
Of which: International operations
284
329
(13.7)
–
8.8
(4.9)
Other Markets
839
988
(15.1)
10.1
14.0
9.0
Of which: Turkey
425
499
(14.8)
–
28.7
13.9
Of which: Egypt
369
356
3.7
–
1.2
4.9
Other
110
117
(6.0)
–
0.7
(5.3)
Eliminations
(30)
(32)
Total service revenue
9,308
9,550
(2.5)
(1.3)
3.4
(0.4)
Other revenue
1,613
1,736
(7.1)
0.3
4.5
(2.3)
Revenue
10,921
11,286
(3.2)
(1.1)
3.6
(0.7)
Other growth metrics
Business - Service revenue
2,520
2,597
(3.0)
0.5
2.3
(0.2)
Germany - Retail revenue
2,802
2,594
8.0
(7.4)
–
0.6
Vodafone Group Plc ⫶ Q3 FY21 trading update
11
Additional information
Quarter ended 31 December - Revenue
Group and Regions
Group
Europe
Q3 FY21
Q3 FY20
Q3 FY21
Q3 FY20
€m
€m
€m
€m
Mobile customer revenue
5,364
5,715
3,844
4,028
Mobile incoming revenue
421
437
303
310
Other service revenue
442
480
291
317
Mobile service revenue
6,227
6,632
4,438
4,655
Fixed service revenue
3,130
3,101
2,966
2,931
Service revenue
9,357
9,733
7,404
7,586
Other revenue
1,844
2,017
1,251
1,384
Revenue
11,201
11,750
8,655
8,970
Operating Companies
Germany
Italy
UK
Q3 FY21
Q3 FY20
Q3 FY21
Q3 FY20
Q3 FY21
Q3 FY20
€m
€m
€m
€m
€m
€m
Mobile customer revenue
1,117
1,112
684
776
733
790
Mobile incoming revenue
57
51
73
74
56
66
Other service revenue
105
110
61
66
59
68
Mobile service revenue
1,279
1,273
818
916
848
924
Fixed service revenue
1,633
1,610
307
304
368
358
Service revenue
2,912
2,883
1,125
1,220
1,216
1,282
Other revenue
423
416
139
209
380
443
Revenue
3,335
3,299
1,264
1,429
1,596
1,725
Spain
Vodacom
Q3 FY21
Q3 FY20
Q3 FY21
Q3 FY20
€m
€m
€m
€m
Mobile customer revenue
563
561
893
977
Mobile incoming revenue
37
32
36
40
Other service revenue
31
38
66
75
Mobile service revenue
631
631
995
1,092
Fixed service revenue
326
335
61
70
Service revenue
957
966
1,056
1,162
Other revenue
102
112
296
290
Revenue
1,059
1,078
1,352
1,452
Vodafone Group Plc ⫶ Q3 FY21 trading update
12
Definitions
Term
Definition
ARPU
Average revenue per user, defined as customer revenue and incoming revenue divided by average customers.
Churn
Total gross customer disconnections in the period divided by the average total customers in the period.
Converged
customer
A customer who receives fixed and mobile services (also known as unified communications) on a single bill or who receives a discount
across both bills.
Adjusted EBITDA
Operating profit after depreciation on lease-related right of use assets and interest on leases but excluding depreciation, amortisation
and gains/losses on disposal for owned fixed assets and excluding share of results in associates and joint ventures, impairment losses,
restructuring costs arising from discrete restructuring plans, other operating income and expense and significant items that are not
considered by management to be reflective of the underlying performance of the Group.
Europe
The Group’s region, Europe, which comprises the European operating segments.
Fixed service
revenue
Service revenue relating to provision of fixed line (‘fixed’) and carrier services.
Free cash flow (pre-
spectrum)
Operating free cash flow after cash flows in relation to taxation, interest, dividends received from associates and investments, dividends
paid to non-controlling shareholders in subsidiaries, but before restructuring costs arising from discrete restructuring plans and licence
and spectrum payments.
Incoming revenue
Comprises revenue from termination rates for voice and messaging to Vodafone customers.
Internet of Things
(‘IoT’)
The network of physical objects embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity, including built-in mobile SIM
cards, that enables these objects to collect data and exchange communications with one another or a database.
Mobile customer
revenue
Represents revenue from mobile customers from bundles that include a specified number of minutes, messages or megabytes of data
that can be used for no additional charge (‘in-bundle’) and revenues from minutes, messages or megabytes of data which are in excess
of the amount included in customer bundles (‘out-of-bundle’). Mobile in-bundle and out-of-bundle revenues are combined to simplify
presentation.
Mobile service
revenue
Service revenue relating to the provision of mobile services.
Memorandum of
Understanding
A Memorandum of Understanding (‘MoU’) is an agreement expressing the intent for two or more parties to work together.
Next generation
networks (‘NGN’)
Fibre or cable networks typically providing high-speed broadband over 30Mbps.
Operating free cash
flow
Cash generated from operations after cash payments for capital additions (excludes capital licence and spectrum payments) and cash
receipts from the disposal of intangible fixed assets and property, plant and equipment, but before restructuring costs arising from
discrete restructuring plans.
Organic growth
An alternative performance measure which presents performance on a comparable basis, in terms of merger and acquisition activity
and movements in foreign exchange rates.
Other Europe
Other Europe markets include Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Romania, Czech Republic, Hungary and Albania.
Other Markets
Other Markets comprise Turkey, Egypt and Ghana.
Other revenue
Other revenue includes connection fees, equipment revenue, interest income and lease revenue.
Regulation
Impact of industry law and regulations covering telecommunication services. The impact of regulation on service revenue in European
markets comprises the effect of changes in European mobile termination rates and changes in out-of-bundle roaming revenues less
the increase in visitor revenues.
Reported growth
Based on amounts reported in euros as determined under IFRS.
Restructuring costs
Costs incurred by the Group following the implementation of discrete restructuring plans to improve overall efficiency.
Retail revenue
Retail revenue comprises Service revenue excluding Mobile Virtual Network Operator (‘MVNO’) and Fixed Virtual Network Operator
‘FVNO’) wholesale revenues.
Roaming and Visitor
Roaming: allows customers to make calls, send and receive texts and data on our and other operators’ mobile networks, usually while
travelling abroad. Visitors: revenue received from other operators or markets when their customers roam on one of our markets’
networks.
Service revenue
Service revenue comprises all revenue related to the provision of ongoing services including, but not limited to, monthly access
charges, airtime usage, roaming, incoming and outgoing network usage by non-Vodafone customers and interconnect charges for
incoming calls.
SME
Small and medium sized enterprises.
Notes
1. All figures in this trading update are unaudited.
2. References to Vodafone are to Vodafone Group Plc and references to Vodafone Group are to Vodafone Group Plc and its subsidiaries unless otherwise stated.
Vodafone, the Vodafone Portrait, the Vodafone Speech mark, Vodafone Broken Speech mark Outline, Vodacom, Vodafone One, The future is exciting. Ready?
and M-Pesa, are trade marks owned by Vodafone. Other product and company names mentioned may be the trade marks of their respective owners.
3. All growth rates reflect a comparison to the quarter ended 31 December 2019 unless otherwise stated.
4. References to “Q2” and “Q3” are to the three months ended 30 September 2020 and 31 December 2020, respectively, unless otherwise stated. References
to the “year”, “financial year” or “2021 financial year” are to the financial year ending 31 March 2021 and references to the “last year”, “last financial year” or
“2020 financial year” are to the financial year ended 31 March 2020 unless otherwise stated.
5. Vodacom refers to the Group’s interest in Vodacom Group Limited (‘Vodacom’) in South Africa as well as its subsidiaries, including its operations in the DRC,
Lesotho, Mozambique and Tanzania.
6. Quarterly historical information is provided in a spreadsheet available at https://investors.vodafone.com/reports-information/results-reports-presentations
7. This trading update contains references to our website. Information on our website is not incorporated into this update and should not be considered part of
this update. We have included any website as an inactive textual reference only.
Vodafone Group Plc ⫶ Q3 FY21 trading update
13
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 and the guidance for Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow (pre-spectrum and restructuring) for the
financial year ending 31 March 2021; the IPO and listing of Vantage Towers; the Group’s sustainable business strategy and 2025 targets;
expectations for the Group’s future performance generally; expectations regarding the operating environment and market conditions and
trends, including customer usage, competitive position 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 5G networks, sharing
infrastructure and its benefits and sharing mobile networks in Europe; expectations regarding the integration or performance of current and
future investments, associates, joint ventures, non-controlled interests and newly acquired businesses, including in respect of Vodafone
Business’ partnership with Accenture.
Forward-looking statements are sometimes, but not always, identified by their use of a date in the future or such words as “will”, “anticipates”,
“could”, “may”, “should”, “expects”, “believes”, “intends”, “plans” or “targets” (including in their negative form or other variations). 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: external cyber-attacks, insider threats or supplier breaches; general economic and political conditions including as
a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, of the jurisdictions in which the Group operates, including as a result of Brexit, and changes to the
associated legal, regulatory and tax environments; increased competition; increased disintermediation; levels of investment in network
capacity and the Group’s ability to deploy new technologies, products and services; rapid changes to existing products and services and the
inability of new products and services to perform in accordance with expectations; the ability of the Group to integrate new technologies,
products and services with existing networks, technologies, products and services; the Group’s ability to generate and grow revenue; 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; slower than expected customer growth, reduced customer retention, reductions or changes in customer spending and
increased pricing pressure; the Group’s ability to extend and expand its spectrum position to support ongoing growth in customer demand
for mobile data services; the Group’s ability to secure the timely delivery of high-quality products from suppliers; loss of suppliers, disruption
of supply chains and greater than anticipated prices of new mobile handsets; changes in the costs to the Group of, or the rates the Group my
charge for, terminations and roaming minutes; the impact of a failure or significant interruption to the Group’s telecommunications, networks,
IT systems or data protection systems; the Group’s ability to realise expected benefits from acquisitions, partnerships, joint ventures,
franchises, brand licences, platform sharing or other arrangements with third parties; acquisitions and divestments of Group businesses and
assets and the pursuit of new, unexpected strategic opportunities; the Group’s ability to integrate acquired business or assets; the extent of
any future write-downs or impairment charges on the Group’s assets, or restructuring charges incurred as a result of an acquisition or
disposition; a developments in the Group’s financial condition, earnings and distributable funds and other factors that the Board takes into
account in determining the level of dividends; the Group’s ability to satisfy working capital requirements; changes in foreign exchange rates;
changes in the regulatory framework in which the Group operates; the impact of legal or other proceedings against the Group or other
companies in the communications industry and changes in statutory tax rates and profit mix.
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 financial year ended 31 March 2020 and the half year results for the six months ended 30 September 2020. The
annual report can be found on the Group’s website (https://investors.vodafone.com/reports-information/latest-annual-results). 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. Any forward-looking statements are made of the date of this presentation. 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.
Any securities issued in connection with an IPO of Vantage Towers will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities
Act”), and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under the Securities Act or pursuant to an exemption from
registration.
Copyright © Vodafone Group 2021
-ends-
