Latest Finance & Strategy Insight – Page 137
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Partnerships & AlliancesBT Group appoints pensions advisory partner
XPS Pensions Group will support BT’s established in-house team.
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Strategy & ChangeTelefónica preps for 2,000+ job cuts — reports
Spanish operations look set for voluntary redundancy scheme rollout, according to multiple sources. Continuation of ongoing headcount reduction programme expected to be in place by mid-2022 following union negotiations later this month.
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Venturing & InvestmentsWayra buys into robotics startup
UM Autonomous Systems attracts €2.3m investment. Wayra additionally backs software solution developer Cobrainer.
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Partnerships & AlliancesVodacom in talks over rural wireless alliance
Operator scoping out partners to share investment in thousands of extra sites across its sub-Saharan African footprint. Venture adds to wider technology and business model experimentation by Vodacom, to fund network expansion.
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M&AINWIT continues to fill M&A kitty
Growing Italian TowerCo building up a €1bn platform for deal-making at end of its latest strategic cycle, in FY23. Expansion plans could give co-parent Vodafone another runner in European TowerCo race, beyond main vehicle Vantage Towers.
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Financial & PerformanceSafaricom confident on Ethiopia despite ‘staff evacuation’
Staff safety and security a priority in Ethiopia, says Safaricom’s Peter Ndegwa, but progress remains on track despite distractions. Break-even forecasts braced for impact of conflict. Employees evacuated from Addis Ababa, according to reports.
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Financial & PerformanceTelefónica prescribes digitalisation as Europe’s inflation antidote
Telefónica’s Argentinian inflation battle shows digitalisation value in markets facing cost challenges. Group management also seeks to ease qualms over rising energy costs and wage inflation in Europe through digitally driven efficiency drive.
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Partnerships & AlliancesVodafone ‘doubles up’ in Serbia
Group’s Partner Markets federation adds Telekom Srbija to its line-up. Deal, which comes amid an attempted revamp of Partner Markets, encroaches on territory already covered by Vodafone’s long relationship with A1 Telekom Austria.
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Strategy & ChangeOpenreach off the table as BT drives fibre efficiency
Group ends talks on InfraCo JV as rising fibre demand and lower build costs dilute benefits of external funding. Virgin Media O2 firmly in BT sights as it aims to lock up wholesale market, and move fast on convergence. Future revenue growth anticipated, but greater efficiency and lower spending ...
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Strategy & ChangeTelefónica cools on Spanish fibre sale (for now)
Vilá says domestic retail and wholesale FTTP operations “probably not reflected” in Group valuation. Repeats company line that Spanish fibre infrastructure is “strategic asset”, but doesn’t rule out monetisation in the future.
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Financial & PerformanceTelefónica passes €1bn in shape shifting Tech push
Telefónica Tech division hitting €1bn in annualised revenue flagged as a highlight in Group’s Q3 results presentation. Growth business’s expansion still being significantly driven by M&A, obscuring ‘organic’ progress. Operator maintains rebound from pandemic with growth in earnings and revenue, and confirmation of guidance.
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Strategy & ChangeVodafone Technology embeds ‘build over buy’ mentality
Vodafone Global Digital Engineering head Ahmed El Sayed updates on Netcracker-backed transformation pilot in Hungary. Software engineering “the future” for Vodafone, as Group looks internally for revamped tech stack under ‘build not buy’ vision.
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Financial & PerformanceT-Mobile rides cyberattack storm
Operator’s Q3 numbers indicate few customers ditched its services in wake of high-profile data breach in August. Competitor exploitation of Sprint integration challenges highlighted as bigger issue, albeit one T-Mobile intends to make “short-lived”. T-Mobile highlights organisational and cultural changes in response to attack.
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Financial & PerformanceTesco Mobile results: JV shines positive light on challenging period
Mixed bag for joint venture throughout UK lockdowns. “Highly competitive” twelve months sees operating profit rise 20%.
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Strategy & ChangeTMF’s Willetts: maintaining vendor status quo “dangerous”
Speaking to TelcoTitans, Nik Willetts, CEO of industry body TM Forum, outlined his perceptions of the state of digital transformation in the telecoms sector. Procurement-led vendor management needs to evolve towards partnership for digital acceleration. Hyperscalers can remain more friend than foe as operators seek new ways to differentiate ...
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PremiumElsewhere in Deutsche Telekom Europe: Cosmote’s FTTP update
Cosmote provides FTTP rollout update and flags new 5G R&D programme; Macedonian NatCo implementing smart city services in Skopje.
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Strategy & ChangeElsewhere in Systems Solutions: OVHcloud’s IPO
IPO to fuel Europe’s “cloud champion”; T-Sys’s Spanish unit reveals new HQ; sustainability concerns presented as commercial opportunity.
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Financial & PerformanceBT highlights cost-cutting progress as Drahi waits in wings
Group confirms it has achieved its headline £1bn savings target well ahead of original March 2023 deadline. Announcement is an attempt to display strengths ahead of this week’s Q2 results and in the face of potential Altice takeover bid before the end of the year.
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Venturing & InvestmentsVi can live long and prosper, insists CEO
Takkar welcomes government four-year moratorium on AGR dues and spectrum fees. Confident that relief package paves way for private investment. Vodafone rules out (again) cash injection into JV. Floor pricing issue still to be resolved.
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PeoplewatchBT’s new function to commercialise network assets
Recently-formed BT Networks seeks new revenue streams, with initiative led by finance and procurement veteran Paul Crouch. One of many efforts to identify commercial opportunities from existing assets and infrastructure as competition hots up.