Vodafone Financial & Performance – Page 12
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Operations
Vi selling majority stake to Indian government in bid to stay afloat
The state is set to receive a 35.8% stake in Vodafone Idea. Share prices drop around 20% in the wake of the news. Stake will be exchanged for easing of the struggling JV’s considerable debt. Government “do not want to run company”, insists Vi CEO
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Financial & Performance
Talkmobile revamp takes a knock from COVID-19
Vodafone UK’s bid to refresh side-business Talkmobile gets bogged down as economising customers and intense competition hit revenue. OpCo still sees inhouse MVNO as a useful defence mechanism against low-cost mobile rivals.
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Financial & Performance
Vodafone close to settling €2.4bn tax dispute with India
Group offers New Delhi a deal after retrospective tax legislation scrapped. Dispute harks back to Vodafone acquisition of Hutchison Essar in 2007. Indian stand-off has long cast a shadow over Group finances, despite recent legal victories.
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Premium
Netcracker BSS gets a digital spruce-up
Upgrade of Vodafone Spain’s existing BSS system aims to deliver improved speed and insight, as well as being able to deal with the complexity of multi-play services.
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TPG takes hit as Teoh offloads shares
Controversial founder sells 20% of his total stake — the maximum he was able to sell. Move sees TPG valuation drop by AU$ 1bn.
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Vodafone H1 FY21–22 guidance: on-point numbers prompt upward correction
Group gains confidence from “in line” H1 numbers to raise floors on earnings and cash flow.
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Vodafone H1 FY21–22 spend: capex boost falls silent, opex squeeze paused
Presentation sees no further update on (somewhat contentious) Group plans for a capex lift to fuel digital services growth. Executives moot another exceptional investment boost in Germany, for fibre rollout. Group Finance’s headline opex reduction programme comes to a temporary halt, amid pandemic effects.
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Q2 FY21–22 Headlines: Vodafone growth maintained despite B2B, Spain bumps
Group benefits as COVID-19 drag steadily eases. On positive side, forward movement maintained in Germany and UK, and picture improves in super-competitive Italy. Blotches include an apparent step back in growth at Vodafone Business, despite its star billing, and a return to reverse gear in perennially challenging Spain.
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Q2 FY21–22: Vodafone's Read hypes prospects as M&A talk hots up
Leadership especially bullish on “momentum” and “sustainable growth” after solid Q2 data. Wave of M&A possibilities surround Vodafone only a few months after Group declared portfolio reshaping complete. Report sees Group maintain growth, but with mix of performances across businesses and a glitch on cost-saving progress. Guidance floors raised ...
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Partnerships & Alliances
SpaceMobile lines up 2022 trials with Vodacom
Chairman Abel Avellan says six-month interconnection and testing programme will follow launch of BlueWalker 3 prototype. Lift-off of giant spacecraft may see slight slippage. US startup adds more MNO partners to go-to-market ahead of 2023 debut.
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Financial & Performance
Vodafone: DT and Orange are ‘credible’ tower merger partners
Read confirms either of Vodafone’s big European rivals could end up being an ally as noise continues to increase around an “industrial merger” for Group’s Vantage Towers business.
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M&A
INWIT 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 & Performance
Safaricom 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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Public Affairs
UK government defends Ethiopian mobile investment
Vodafone and CDC investment in Ethiopian mobile operator crops up in parliamentary debate on Tigray humanitarian crisis. Investment deemed to be “right” and long term. CDC emphasises role as impact investor with a lot of patience. Vodacom agrees to fund Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia.
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Partnerships & Alliances
Vodafone sees sales dip from international tie-ups
Revenue from Group’s Partner Markets federation falls back amid pandemic and footprint reduction. Vodafone’s flow of cash from Africa takes a drop following rework of M-PESA business.
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M&A
Liberty CEO: call me, Nick, if you want to sell VodafoneZiggo
Mike Fries says Liberty “open-minded” on possibility of transaction with co-parent Vodafone. Management of Dutch JV conducting “strategic review” around issues including infrastructure and content ownership.
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Vodafone Q1 FY21–22: ‘Phase two’ relaunched with M&A sweetener
Some hints of compromise with City overseers as Vodafone re-seeds post-pandemic, digital-led growth plan. New Chairman van Boxmeer appears to be lighting a fire under Group mindset and strategy. M&A talked up as a lever to help Vodafone in the push to revive growth. Another chunk of Vantage could ...
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Vodafone Q1 FY21-22 Headlines: pandemic snags unwind, gradually
Group bounces out of pandemic slump, helped by lapping and increased business confidence. Cautious CEO warns of further “bumps in the road”. In Spain, another large-scale downsizing move made under cover of Digital Telco transformation, and as fodder for Group’s centralisation-led efficiency plans.
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Vodafone Q1 FY21-22 Guidance: all quiet on capex front
Group unsurprisingly “firmly on track” to meet heavily caveated free cash flow target. Plan for spend “step-up”, highlighted in May 2021, appears yet to be firmed up after causing City consternation.
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Strategy & Change
Vodacom-owned XLink lays groundwork for new MD
Fleet-footed 2016 acquisition on the lookout for new leader. MD incumbent yet to reveal next step. Recent re-positioning sees provider embrace cloud and up focus on finance and retail markets.