Final Results - Year Ended 31 March 2000, Part 1

Vodafone AirTouch PLC 30 May 2000 PART 1 VODAFONE AIRTOUCH PLC PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENT OF RESULTS - YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2000 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (1) Year ended Year ended Percentage 31 March 31 March increase 2000 1999 % PRO FORMA BASIS (2) (3) Proportionate customers at year end 39,139,000 25,421,000 54 Proportionate turnover £12,569m £9,185m 37 Proportionate EBITDA - before exceptional items (4) £3,948m £3,046m 30 Proportionate total Group operating profit - before goodwill and exceptional items (4) £2,708m £2,055m 32 Non-proportionate profit on ordinary activities before taxation (5) - before goodwill and exceptional items (4) £2,474m £1,800m 37 STATUTORY BASIS (2) (Details on page 16) Total Group operating profit - before goodwill and exceptional items (4) £2,538m £972m 161 Profit on ordinary activities before taxation - before goodwill and exceptional items (4) £2,154m £878m 145 Basic earnings per share (6) - before goodwill and exceptional items (4) 4.71p 3.77p 25 - after goodwill and exceptional items 1.80p 4.12p Dividends per share (6) 1.335p 1.272p 5 The acquisition of Mannesmann AG received clearance from the European Commission on 12 April 2000. Accordingly, the results of Mannesmann AG are not included in either the pro forma or statutory profit and loss accounts, or customer information, for the year ended 31 March 2000. (1) The unaudited pro forma profit and loss accounts and customer information are calculated on the basis that the merger with AirTouch Communications, Inc. took place on 1 April in each year presented, which is further described in Note 2 to the preliminary announcement. The audited statutory financial information is calculated on the basis required by accounting standards and includes the results of AirTouch Communications, Inc. from 30 June 1999, the date of closure of the merger. (2) Pro forma proportionate customer and financial information excludes E-Plus Mobilfunk GmbH. (3) Exceptional items comprise the profit on disposal of fixed asset investments, reorganisation costs following the merger with AirTouch Communications, Inc. and exceptional finance costs incurred in restructuring the Group's borrowing facilities as a result of the Mannesmann acquisition. (4) Non-proportionate pro forma profit on ordinary activities before taxation, goodwill and exceptional items is analysed in Note 3. (5) Prior year earnings and dividends per share have been adjusted to give effect to the capitalisation issue on 30 September 1999. Chris Gent, Chief Executive of Vodafone AirTouch Plc, commented: 'By any standard, the year ended 31 March 2000 has seen exceptional progress for Vodafone AirTouch. In the course of the year, we saw the closure of the AirTouch transaction and agreements with both Bell Atlantic and Mannesmann, which completed in April 2000. The effect of all of these transactions collectively is to more than quadruple the size of the business in a year when we achieved outstanding underlying growth on all measures. With regard to the successful implementation of the Group's strategy, the last financial year saw major advances on all fronts. Our strategy is aimed at pursuing growth in three different ways; accelerated customer growth, geographic expansion and the provision of new services to customers. We expect to see mobile substitute for fixed in both voice and data services for the consumer and then be extended and enriched to provide services that have never before been available to users, increasing usage in every market. This will give enormous growth potential for Vodafone AirTouch, to the benefit of our customers and shareholders.' Group highlights: * Strong progress following completion of the merger with AirTouch Communications, Inc. on 30 June 1999, reflected in record improvements in turnover, operating profit, EBITDA and customer numbers. * Worldwide customer base at 31 March 2000 of 39.1 million proportionate customers, up 54%. 86.1 million customers in ventures the Group invests in or controls. * Pro forma proportionate EBITDA, before exceptional items, up 30% on the comparable period to £3,948m. * Earnings per share growth of 25%, before goodwill and exceptional items. * Creation of Verizon Wireless on 3 April 2000, a new US joint venture business with a national footprint, in which the Group will have a 45% interest. * Mannesmann acquisition completed on 12 April 2000. * VIZZAVI launched as the brand name for the Group's multi- access Global Internet Portal in May 2000; based on a single global technology platform, VIZZAVI will maintain existing relationships with customers and capture new revenue streams in the emerging market for Internet services. Regional highlights: Europe, Middle East & Africa * Pro forma proportionate customers increased by 71% in the year to 15.6 million. * Pro forma total Group operating profit from EMEA operations, before goodwill, increased by 34% to £1,321m. * Group interest in E-Plus disposed of at a profit of £939m. * Commercial service launched in Hungary and increased ownership interests in the Group's investments in Italy, Poland and Romania. * EMEA's pro forma proportionate mobile customers increased by 13.3 million to over 28.9 million customers (excluding Orange) through the Mannesmann acquisition, based on venture customers at 31 March 2000. * New multi-access Internet portal company for Europe created on 17 May 2000 under a 50/50 joint venture agreement with VivendiNet (a joint venture between Vivendi and Canal+). The new venture, operating under the VIZZAVI global brand name, will become the default home page for Vodafone's, Vivendi's and Canal+'s national operating companies, giving access to more than 70 million customers. United Kingdom * Market leader with 8.8 million customers and market share of 32%. 3.2 million net new customers connected in the year, 1.5 times the number achieved in the comparable period. * UK Group operating profit before goodwill increased to £706m, up 10% on last year. * Substantial growth in value added services. Nine-fold increase from March 1999 in the use of Short Message Service (SMS) to 141 million messages in March 2000. * Successful launch of wireless portal in December 1999, with over 60,000 registered customers at the year end. Largest available UK 3G licence acquired in April 2000. United States & Asia Pacific * Proportionate customers at year end of 14.7 million, a pro forma increase of 38%. * Pro forma total Group operating profit of £915m from United States and Asia Pacific operations, before goodwill and exceptional reorganisation costs of £30m, an increase of 45%. * Verizon Wireless created on 3 April 2000. This new US joint venture will serve more than 23 million customers following anticipated completion of Bell Atlantic - GTE merger. * Ownership interests increased to over 20% in each of nine regional cellular networks operating in Japanese market. EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA At 31 March 2000, the EMEA region had network operations in sixteen countries, operating through seven subsidiary network companies and nine associated undertakings. Pro forma customer and profit growth during the year, which exclude any impact from the acquisition of Mannesmann AG, for which EC clearance was received on 12 April 2000, were strong across the region. EMEA's proportionate customers increased to 15,662,000 at 31 March 2000, which represents pro forma growth for the year of 6,492,000 customers (71%). Pro forma proportionate turnover increased by 38% to £4,437m for the year, whilst pro forma proportionate EBITDA increased from £1,127m to £1,492m, representing growth of 32%. Pro forma consolidated turnover for the year to 31 March 2000 grew by 26% from £1,617m to £2,030m, with EMEA's contribution to pro forma total Group operating profit, before goodwill, increasing by 34% to £1,321m. During the year, the Group increased its shareholdings in several of its associates. In August 1999, the Group exercised an option to increase its stake in Omnitel Pronto Italia, Italy's second GSM network, from 17.8% to 21.6% and, in November 1999, the Group increased its stake in MobiFon, Romania's third GSM operator, from 10.0% to 20.1%. In December and January, the Group exercised its pre-emption rights to increase its shareholding in Polkomtel, Poland's second GSM operator, from 19.25% to 19.61%. With the further consolidation of the distribution chain in a number of EMEA markets, certain subsidiaries also made strategic acquisitions during the year. In Greece, Panafon acquired a 25% shareholding in a service provider, Mobitel, subject to regulatory approvals and, in Sweden, Europolitan acquired a dealer chain, Ocom. Growth in prepaid services has continued and, at 31 March 2000, over 54% of the region's proportionate customers were connected to prepaid tariffs, compared with 30% a year earlier. As a result of the change in mix towards prepaid, and the general trend of lower tariffs across the region, ARPU (at constant exchange rates) declined from £354 last year to £318 in the year to 31 March 2000. Average network churn in the region remained low during the year at 20.5%, calculated on a pro forma basis. Following the AirTouch merger on 30 June 1999, the Group's listed subsidiaries include Telecel and Europolitan. These are in addition to Panafon and Libertel, the latter being listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange in June 1999. The market capitalisation of these companies at the end of the year was as follows: Listed in Market capitalisation 31 March 2000 Europolitan Stockholm £5.5bn Libertel Amsterdam £4.2bn Panafon Athens £4.7bn Telecel Lisbon £2.6bn On 4 February 2000, the Group completed the sale of its 17.24% interest in E-Plus Mobilfunk GmbH in accordance with an undertaking provided to the European Commission as part of the AirTouch merger, giving a profit on disposal of £939m. On 30 November 1999, the Group's 50.1% subsidiary, Vodafone Hungary, commenced commercial service as the third cellular network operator in that country. On 13 March 2000, Airtel Movil in Spain was the first EMEA mobile operator to be awarded a third generation (UMTS) licence. The company is expected to build out its network during 2001, with service launch anticipated in late 2001, subject to infrastructure and handset availability. ACQUISITION OF MANNESMANN Following the European Commission's approval of the acquisition of Mannesmann AG on 12 April 2000, the Group's effective interest in Mannesmann Mobilfunk and Omnitel Pronto Italia increased to approximately 99.1% and 76.0%, respectively. This resulted in an approximate 13.3 million increase in the region's total pro forma proportionate customers to over 28.9 million (excluding Mannesmann's interest in Orange), based on total venture customers of 51.1 million at 31 March 2000. Discussions are underway to achieve the rapid integration of the former Mannesmann businesses into the existing Vodafone AirTouch portfolio. This will ensure that initiatives to realise the significant potential synergy benefits, both on cost (in areas such as infrastructure and handset procurement) and revenues (through improved product offerings across the enlarged European footprint), will start immediately. In addition to the increased shareholdings in mobile operations, the Group also acquired Mannesmann's interests in the following fixed line businesses - Arcor in Germany, Infostrada in Italy, Cegetel in France and tele.ring in Austria. tele.ring also plans to launch a mobile service in Austria in June 2000, following its successful bid for a new licence, and will be the fourth mobile operator in the Austrian market. VIZZAVI joint venture On 17 May 2000, the Group and VivendiNet (a joint venture between Vivendi and Canal+) announced that an agreement had been signed for the creation of a new joint venture company, VIZZAVI, to establish a multi-access Internet portal for Europe. The Group and VivendiNet will both have a 50% shareholding in VIZZAVI and anticipate making an Initial Public Offering within two years. The new venture, operating under the VIZZAVI global brand name, will become the default home page for Vodafone's, Vivendi's and Canal+'s national operating companies throughout Europe, with access to more than 70 million customers. The multi-access Internet portal will provide services to customers in a consistent format across different platforms, including mobile handsets, personal computers, televisions and personal digital assistants. VIZZAVI will have its own technology team to develop the multi-access interfaces, working in close co-operation with the Group's global mobile platform technology team to ensure a seamless global service. Vivendi has indicated its interest in purchasing the Group's entire 15% shareholding in Cegetel's capital stock. UNITED KINGDOM The year saw continued rapid expansion in the UK mobile phone market, which grew by 12.4 million new customers compared with 5.8 million the previous year. There are now over 27 million mobile phone customers in the UK and market penetration is 46% compared with 26% at the beginning of the financial year. Vodafone has maintained its clear leadership in this highly competitive market place with a record 3,216,000 net new customers, closing the year with a customer base of 8,791,000 and a market share of 32%, 5% or 1.4 million customers ahead of its nearest competitor. Turnover in the UK increased by 39% from £2,088m to £2,901m. Operating profit, before goodwill, grew by £62m to £706m, an increase of 10%, whilst EBITDA increased by 14% to £934m. This growth in profits is after connection costs on record customer growth and continued tariff cuts. Network business Pre-paid products have driven the growth in the UK mobile market during the year. Vodafone's Pay As You Talk (PAYT) product has operated very successfully in this market, achieving 3,233,000 net connections in the year ended 31 March 2000, compared with 1,648,000 net connections last year. PAYT customers totalled 5,079,000 at 31 March 2000 and represented almost 58% of Vodafone's UK customer base. The success of PAYT is reflected in the average revenue per customer (ARPU) for the twelve months ended 31 March 2000 which, at £175 (£199 before trade discounts), was up by 10% from £159 (£178 before trade discounts) at 31 March 1999. PAYT cost to connect for the twelve months ended 31 March 2000 was held at £50 in a highly competitive marketplace, compared with £43 in the twelve months to 31 March 1999. Following a 55,000 reduction in the contract customer base in the first half of the year, revised tariffs and other changes to commercial policy resulted in a net second half increase of 38,000, giving a closing contract customer base of 3,712,000. Cost to connect rose to £94 for the 12 months ended 31 March 2000 from £88 for the comparable period, reflecting competitive pressures. ARPU was stable at £421 (£554 before trade discounts) for the twelve months ended 31 March 2000 compared to £423 (£553 before trade discounts) at 31 March 1999. This reflects tariff reductions being balanced by increased usage. Overall average revenue per customer (both contract and PAYT) has declined from £378 last year to £305 this year due to the effect of the increase in the PAYT base. Network churn has fallen in the six months ended 31 March 2000 to 28.3% from 33.2% in the previous six months, reflecting management actions taken in the second half of the year. Overall churn in the 12 months ended 31 March 2000 rose to 29.8% from 26.0 % the previous year. Vodafone continues to have the widest roaming capability of the UK operators, with agreements in 107 countries and across 234 networks, giving over 170 million customers access to its network. Roaming revenues, both from Vodafone customers using their phones overseas and visitors using the UK network, represented 24% of contract digital outgoing airtime and access revenues, compared with 23% last year. Vodafone continues to invest to improve network quality. £523m was spent on capital expenditure in the year, enabling the company to sustain, and in certain areas improve, overall network quality through a period of significantly increasing demand. During the year over 1,600 base stations were installed, with 6,700 in operation at 31 March 2000. Distribution business The Group's distribution companies continued to drive the majority of Vodafone's growth, achieving net growth, excluding service provider acquisitions, of 198,000 contract customers and two thirds of the growth in PAYT. By the end of March 2000, the Group's distribution companies accounted for 63% of the Vodafone contract customer base, up from 48% at the end of March 1999. The share of the contract customer base connected through the Group's distribution businesses was boosted by the acquisition of MC Mobile Services, UniqueAir, Scottish Telecommunications (Services) and 3@ Telecom during the year, for an aggregate cost of £84m. Market leadership on PAYT has been sustained by continuing to increase availability through a wide range of retailers. Throughout the period, Vodafone has continued to work with traditional independent service providers and dealers to balance growth through these channels with that coming from new channels on PAYT. Vodafone Retail has shown continued success and grew to 272 shops, with average connections per shop up by 57%. Vodafone Corporate increased its market share in the overall corporate market. An option to dispose of the Group's 20% interest in the Martin Dawes service provider business was exercised in the year, resulting in a profit on disposal of £11m. The high level of churn through this service provider, following the disposal of our shareholding, was adequately compensated for by the strong performance of the wholly-owned distribution businesses. During the year, Vodafone Paging improved its share of the highly competitive subscription paging market through securing several major corporate contracts. The new paging services recently launched have positioned the company to take the lead in the introduction of two-way messaging services into the traditional paging market. Value Added and Data Service business Vodafone Value Added and Data Services saw strong growth in the Short Message Service (SMS) and continued to lead the UK market in the commercial development of data and value added services. At the end of March, 43% of Vodafone's customers made use of SMS, compared with 15% at the same time last year. The average number of messages sent by each customer also increased with a total of 141 million short messages being carried on the network in March 2000, compared with 15 million in March 1999. Future Services The UK's multi-media portal was launched in December 1999 and, by the end of the financial year, had over 60,000 registered customers. Additional services are being progressively launched and, by the end of May, the UK portal is expected to have over 90,000 customers. Migration to the new global service delivery platform and Internet brand is anticipated to take place in July 2000. In April, Vodafone was successful in acquiring the largest UK 3G licence available to an existing operator, for £5.964 billion. This gives the maximum spectrum available to enable the full development of video, picture messaging, e-commerce and other data and mobile multi-media services. For the first time, Vodafone will have more capacity for its products and services than any of its UK competitors. In parallel with the development of the 3G network, Vodafone is testing and rolling out GPRS, which is expected to be in commercial service during the last quarter of the year ending March 2001. UNITED STATES & ASIA PACIFIC Proportionate customers for the United States and Asia Pacific region increased by 38%, on a pro forma basis, during the year ended 31 March 2000, to 14,686,000. Pro forma proportionate turnover increased from £3,807m for the year ended 31 March 1999 to £5,187m, an increase of 36%, and pro forma proportionate EBITDA, before exceptional items, increased by 38% to £1,522m. Pro forma turnover in the twelve months to 31 March 2000 increased by 19% to £3,956m, with pro forma total Group operating profit increasing by 45% to £915m, before goodwill and exceptional reorganisation costs of £30m incurred in the US following the merger with AirTouch. The Group is seeing clear benefits from this expenditure, which is generating synergies in line with the plan developed before merger completion. US Cellular & PCS Operations The Group's mobile operations in the US increased total proportionate customers on a pro forma basis by 1,873,000 to 10,553,000 at the year end, an increase of 22%. This increase includes over 402,000 customers added through the acquisition of CommNet and 214,000 net customers connected by the CMT and PCS PrimeCo joint ventures. Strong growth in the number of digital customers resulted from the continued rollout of the US digital network. 4,196,000 proportionate customers were connected to the digital network at 31 March 2000, representing 40% of the customer base at the end of the year, compared with 22% at 31 March 1999. The migration of customers from analogue to digital networks has been stimulated by incentives, an extensive advertising campaign and a new range of tariffs. On average, customers connected to the digital network generate higher revenues and a lower level of churn than those connected to the analogue network. In the twelve months to 31 March 2000, average cost to connect decreased to £141 from £145 (at constant exchange rates) for the comparable period. The decline in the average cost to connect during the year has been achieved despite the growth in the digital customer base, where handset prices are considerably higher than those for analogue customers. This, together with the costs incurred in migrating existing customers from analogue to digital, has affected the level of profitability. ARPU for the twelve months to 31 March 2000 on subsidiary US networks was £293, a decrease of 7% on the same period last year. However, in recent months, the average monthly revenue per customer has improved with some markets beginning to see an increase in ARPU, as higher usage, and the benefits of customer migration to the digital network, offset the effects of tariff reductions. Average monthly usage per customer increased during the year to 141 minutes, compared with 122 minutes for the comparable period. Churn on wholly owned US networks during the year ended 31 March 2000 was 29% compared with 27% in the prior year. The effects of new retention initiatives, together with the increased number of customers on the digital network, are beginning to reduce the level of churn in US operations. Positive measures have also been taken to reduce reliance on independent retailers to support customer growth. The opening of new retail shops has continued, improving the distribution of cellular services in the US market. During the year, the total number of retail outlets increased by 222 stores to 316 at 31 March 2000. Customers connected through wholly owned retail operations are less expensive to connect and, at the present time, churn is at a significantly lower rate. On 6 January 2000, the outstanding share capital of CommNet was acquired. CommNet operates wireless services in the mid-west of the United States and had over 402,000 customers at acquisition. On 15 March 2000, AirTouch pre-launched the Group's global platform for mobile data and Internet services in Michigan, Ohio, Oregon and Washington. By mid-May, 81,000 customers were connected to the service, with new activations being made at a rate of between 800 and 1,200 per day. The US paging business had 3.5 million customers at 31 March 2000 and continued to trade profitably during the year. Bell Atlantic Joint Venture On 3 April 2000, Verizon Wireless was created by the combination of Vodafone AirTouch's and Bell Atlantic's US cellular, PCS and paging assets. Further businesses will be contributed to the joint venture following the anticipated completion of the merger between Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp., when Verizon Wireless will rank as the market leader in the US wireless industry serving, more than 23 million customers and covering 96 of the top 100 US markets. The Group will have a 45% shareholding in this new venture and has nominated three of the seven board members and one executive officer. Verizon Wireless will have the national scale and scope to realise revenue enhancements, cost savings and capital efficiencies. The company will achieve cost savings through reduced roaming costs and increased economies of scale in transport, billing volumes, handset purchases and advertising. Combining common CDMA technology platforms will also yield capital efficiencies, simplified integration and superior network quality. Vodafone AirTouch and Bell Atlantic have announced that they are planning an Initial Public Offering for Verizon Wireless. Australia/New Zealand/Fiji The Group's interests in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji increased their proportionate customers by 726,000 to 1,795,000 at 31 March 2000, an increase of 68%. This increase in customers has driven strong growth in revenue and operating profit. Vodafone Australia increased its customer base by 48% in the year ended 31 March 2000 to 1,440,000 customers, 18% of the total Australian digital market. From April 2000, Australian customers were among the first in the world to access an early release of the Group's global platform for mobile data and Internet services. Strong growth continued in New Zealand and its customer base was 473,000 at 31 March 2000, an increase of more than 290,000 customers in the year. Since acquiring this operation on 30 October 1998, the customer base has grown by more than 263%. Vodafone Fiji, in which the Group has a 49% shareholding, increased its customer base by 200% during the year to 24,000 customers at 31 March 2000. The Group is making necessary preparations to proceed with an Initial Public Offering of these interests through Vodafone Pacific and will continue to monitor market conditions in order to assess the optimal timing for the Offering. Japan During the year, the Group increased its equity interests to more than 20% in each of Japan's nine regional mobile telecommunications companies, becoming the second largest shareholder, behind Japan Telecom, in each venture. The total consideration paid for the increased ownership interests in the three Digital Phone and six Digital Tu-Ka companies was £342m. At 31 March 2000, the Group's proportionate customers amounted to 1,907,000, with overall customer growth in ventures in which the Group has an interest being 31% in the year. The nationwide roll-out of the Digital Phone Group's 'J-Phone' brand to each of the six former Digital Tu-Ka companies has been very successful. This will increase the ability of the renamed 'J- Phone' companies to compete in the Japanese mobile telecommunications market. 'Sky Walker', the J-Phone short message service (SMS), is proving to be very popular and is currently used by as many as 80% of J- Phone customers in the Tokyo area. 'J-Sky', J-Phone's Internet service, was introduced in December 1999 and there are approximately one million customers currently connected to this service across the J-Phone companies. On 30 March 2000, the Group announced that, together with its partners, Japan Telecom and British Telecom, it had agreed to restructure its interests in Japan ahead of the third generation licence application in April 2000. The Group's ownership interests are substantially unchanged by the restructuring. Satellite Services All major operational milestones were met for the Group's satellite services businesses in the US, Canada and Mexico in 1999, and commercial service has been launched throughout North America. Sales of services will be accomplished through a network of agents and resellers, including sales channels established through Verizon Wireless. In March 2000, the Group launched Vodafone Globalstar in Australia, the country's first ever fully integrated GSM/satellite mobile service. FINANCIAL REVIEW Profit and loss account Turnover increased to £7,873m from £3,360m last year. This increase includes £3,375m in respect of acquisitions and strong growth from continuing operations. Profit on ordinary activities before tax increased to £1,349m from £935m primarily due to the profit on the sale of E-Plus, organic growth from continuing operations and contributions arising from the acquired AirTouch businesses, offset by goodwill amortisation. Due to the significance of the merger with AirTouch Communications, Inc., unaudited pro forma consolidated profit and loss accounts have been presented for the years ended 31 March 2000 and 31 March 1999, calculated on the basis that the merger took place on 1 April in each financial year. The following discussion of Group turnover and operating profit is based on the pro forma consolidated profit and loss accounts, as this provides a direct comparison of operating performance. Approval from the European Commission for the acquisition of Mannesmann AG was received on 12 April 2000. In addition, the transaction with Bell Atlantic Corp. to create Verizon Wireless was completed on 3 April 2000. Accordingly, the statutory and pro forma profit and loss accounts for the year ended 31 March 2000 do not include any amounts in relation to the acquisition of Mannesmann AG or the creation of the Verizon Wireless joint venture. Pro forma Group turnover Pro forma Group turnover for the financial year increased by £1,869m to £8,887m, representing pro forma growth of 27%. Pro forma turnover in EMEA increased by 26% to £2,030m, with strong turnover growth across the region as pro forma customers in controlled businesses increased by 52% during the year. The growth in pre-paid services has been an important feature of this result, with over 54% of the region's proportionate customers now being connected to pre-paid products. Turnover in the UK increased by 39% to £2,901m, reflecting strong PAYT customer growth, the success of data services and increased minutes' usage, offset by the impact of tariff reductions. Customer numbers in the Group's subsidiaries in the US, Australia and New Zealand increased by 26% to almost 12,000,000 customers at 31 March 2000, resulting in a £643m (19%) increase in pro forma turnover for the United States & Asia Pacific region to £3,956m. Total pro forma proportionate turnover, which reflects the Group's ownership interests in its world-wide operations, increased during the year by 37% to £12,569m. The Group's total proportionate customers increased to 39,139,000 at 31 March 2000, representing pro forma growth of 54%. Total pro forma Group operating profit Total pro forma Group operating profit increased by 30% from £2,260m to £2,942m, before goodwill and exceptional reorganisation costs. Pro forma total Group operating profit for EMEA, before goodwill, and including the Group's share of associated undertakings, increased by 34% to £1,321m. This growth reflects strong trading throughout the region, in particular by subsidiaries in Egypt, the Netherlands and Sweden and by associated undertakings in Germany, Italy, South Africa and Spain. This was offset by a reduction in operating profit in France due to high connection costs incurred on customer growth in SFR. In the UK, total operating profit before goodwill, increased by £62m to £706m. This growth in operating profit is after connection costs on record customer growth, 50% higher than last year, and tariff reductions. The United States & Asia Pacific region reported a pro forma increase of 45% in total Group operating profit to £915m, before goodwill, and exceptional reorganisation costs of £30m incurred in the US following the merger with AirTouch. The increase in operating profit reflects strong organic growth in Australasia and Japan, the impact of stake increases in Japan and the first full year of results from New Zealand. These factors are offset by the cost of migrating US customers from analogue to digital, with 40% of customers now on digital tariffs compared to 22% last year. Movements in exchange rates had an adverse impact of £21m on the increase in pro forma total Group operating profit. The adverse effect of exchange rate movements from the strength of sterling against the Euro was partially offset by compensating exchange rate movements against the US Dollar and Yen. Pro forma proportionate EBITDA increased by 30% from £3,046m to £3,948m. Proportionate EBITDA is defined as operating profit before exceptional reorganisation costs, plus depreciation and amortisation of subsidiaries, joint ventures, associated undertakings and investments, proportionate to equity stakes. Profit on disposal of fixed asset investments and businesses The profit on disposal of fixed asset investments of £954m primarily comprises a profit of £939m on the disposal of the Group's 17.24% interest in E-plus Mobilfunk GmbH. This disposal was a condition to the European Commission's approval of the merger with AirTouch. The remaining profit on disposal includes the sale of the Group's 20% interest in the UK service provider business, Martin Dawes, and the disposal of the Group's 50% shareholding in Comfone AG in Switzerland. Interest Net interest costs in respect of the Group's net borrowings increased by £257m to £333m during the year, before charging £17m of exceptional finance costs incurred in restructuring the Group's borrowing facilities as a result of the Mannesmann acquisition. This increase reflects a £5,135m increase in net borrowings during the year, mainly due to the additional debt arising from the merger with AirTouch. Group interest, excluding the Group's share of interest payable by joint ventures and associated undertakings, is covered 7.3 times by Group EBITDA (before exceptional reorganisation costs). The Group's main interest exposures are sterling, Euro and US dollar interest rates. Taxation The effective rate of taxation for the year, before goodwill and disposals, increased to 32.5% from 28.7% in the year ended 31 March 1999. The 3.8% increase in the effective tax rate is primarily the result of the higher tax rates attributable to the former AirTouch operations, whose results have been included for the nine month period following merger completion. Basic earnings per share Basic earnings per share, before goodwill and exceptional items, increased by 25% from 3.77p to 4.71p, after adjusting the comparative figure for the capitalisation (bonus) issue on 30 September 1999. Basic earnings per share, after goodwill and exceptional items, fell from 4.12p last year to 1.80p. This includes a reduction of 6.32p per share in relation to the amortisation of capitalised goodwill, arising primarily from the merger with AirTouch and other acquisitions completed during the year. Dividends The proposed final dividend of 0.680p produces a total for the year of 1.335p, an increase of 5% over last year, and reflects the Group's continuing strong trading performance and cash generation. Dividend cover, before goodwill amortisation, increased to 3.5 times compared with 3.3 times in the year ended 31 March 1999. Employees The Group employed approximately 40,700 people at 31 March 2000, compared with 13,300 at last year end. This increase includes approximately 20,700 employees who joined the Group following the merger with AirTouch and the completion of other acquisitions in the year. 69% of the Group's total employees work outside the United Kingdom. Balance sheet Fixed assets Total fixed assets have increased in the year from £2,851m to £150,851m at 31 March 2000. £41,379m of this increase is in relation to goodwill, net of amortisation charges, arising on acquisitions and investments in new businesses completed during the year, which has been capitalised and amortised in accordance with the Group's accounting policies. During the year, £21,789m of goodwill (net of amortisation) has been capitalised within intangible fixed assets in relation to acquired subsidiaries, with a further £19,590m being allocated to investments in joint ventures and associated undertakings. Included in these amounts is goodwill arising on the merger with AirTouch, provisionally calculated as £41.0 billion. This is being amortised primarily by reference to the unexpired licence period and conditions for licence renewal of the underlying acquired network businesses, with the amortisation periods ranging between 8 and 40 years. The Group's investments, which include equity investments and loans advanced to associated undertakings and other investments, increased by £121,966m in the year as shown in the table below. £m At 1 April 1999 372 Acquisition of Mannesmann 101,246 New investments, including goodwill of £19,590m 20,999 Other movements (279) ------- At 31 March 2000 122,338 ======= The investment of £101,246m in respect of Mannesmann AG represents the ordinary shares issued to the shareholders and convertible bond holders of Mannesmann AG at 31 March 2000. This follows the receipt of valid acceptances representing approximately 98.62% of the issued share capital of the company and 99.72% of the convertible bond at 27 March 2000, the date that the Company's Offer closed. The Mannesmann acquisition completed on 12 April 2000, the date that clearance was received from the European Commission. Tangible fixed assets increased by £4,157m during the year, primarily relating to the merger with AirTouch and continued capital investment in the Group's world-wide network operations. Equity shareholders' funds Total equity shareholders' funds at 31 March 2000 had increased to £140,833m, compared with £815m at 31 March 1999. The increase includes the issue of new share capital of £140,037m, primarily in relation to the merger with AirTouch and the acquisition of Mannesmann, unvested option consideration of £1,165m in respect of the merger with AirTouch, a profit for the financial year of £487m (after goodwill amortisation of £1,712m), offset by dividends paid and proposed of £620m and an adverse currency translation adjustment in reserves of £1,130m. Cash flows and net borrowings Cash generated from operating activities increased by £1,465m to £2,510m due primarily to the growth in the Group's operations and the inclusion of the operating cash flows of the former AirTouch businesses following the merger. The principal cash outflows during the period related to cash consideration for investment purchases of £4,801m, net capital expenditure of £1,739m and net interest and other finance charges of £406m, including dividends paid to minority interests of £93m. Net capital expenditure of £1,739m is after deducting £279m of cash receipts in relation to the sub-leasing of certain US communications towers. An analysis of net payments made in respect of investments is set out in the table below. £m AirTouch Communications, Inc. 3,534 CommNet Cellular, Inc. 459 J-Phone Group 342 Omnitel 112 Other 354 ------- 4,801 ====== These cash outflows were offset by cash inflows of £236m in respect of dividends from associated undertakings, £1,028m from the disposal of fixed asset investments and loan repayments, and proceeds of £362m on the exercise of share options by employees. As a result of these cash flows, and acquired indebtedness of £2,133m, net debt at the year end was £6,643m, an increase of £5,135m from 31 March 1999. A maturity analysis of net debt at 31 March 2000 is shown below. Analysed by repayment year: £m Less than 1 year 605 Between 1-2 years 481 Between 2-5 years 1,681 More than 5 years 3,876 ------- 6,643 ====== Debt repayable within one year in the above analysis is net of cash and other liquid investments amounting to £189m at 31 March 2000. £700m of the gross debt maturing within one year was commercial paper, issued under the Group's US$5 billion commercial paper programme. This programme is supported by bank facilities with more than one year to maturity. The Group launched a Euro1.5 billion eurobond issue in October 1999 and a US$5.25 billion bond in February 2000, with maturities of between 5 and 30 years, the proceeds from which were used to refinance short term borrowings. Funding and liquidity The Group has a strong financial position demonstrated by credit ratings of P-1/F1/A2 short term and A/A/A- long term from Moody's, Fitch IBCA Duff & Phelps and Standard and Poor's, respectively, which reflect the amended ratings of the Group following the acquisition of Mannesmann and the UK 3G licence auction. This enables the Group to access a wide range of debt finance including bonds, commercial paper and committed bank facilities. The maturity of the undrawn committed facility available to the Group at 31 March 2000 is shown below: Analysed by year of expiry: Euro (million) Within 1 year 9,500 Between 2-5 years 7,500 ------- 17,000 ====== The committed facility comprises a syndicated senior credit facility of Euro30 billion, which was subsequently reduced to Euro17 billion on 11 March 2000. The portion of the facility maturing within one year may be extended, at the option of the Group, for a further period of between 6 and 12 months. In May 2000, the Group issued US$3.75 billion of Floating Rate Notes, of which US$0.75 billion is due in June 2001 and US$3.0 billion in December 2001. On 26 May 2000, the Group signed an additional US$5 billion 364 day bank facility, extendable at the option of the Group by a further 9 months. Subsequent events On 3 April 2000, a new US joint venture wireless business with a national footprint, Verizon Wireless, was created by the combination of Vodafone AirTouch's and Bell Atlantic's US cellular, PCS and paging assets. Following the anticipated completion of the merger between Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp., the Group will have a 45% shareholding in the new venture. On 12 April 2000, the acquisition of Mannesmann AG received clearance from the European Commission. The acquisition has resulted in increased shareholdings in certain mobile operations, with a pro forma increase in the proportionate customer base of the Europe, Middle East & Africa region to over 28.9 million, based on customer numbers at 31 March 2000. Mannesmann's interests also include fixed line businesses in Germany, Italy, France and Austria as well as non-telecommunications businesses, primarily Atecs Mannesmann, its engineering and automotive business. On 17 April 2000, the Group announced that Mannesmann AG had reached an agreement with Siemens AG and Robert Bosch AG on the disposal of a 50% plus two shares stake in Atecs Mannesmannn, with an option arrangement over Mannesmann AG's remaining stake. The transaction values Atecs Mannesmann at approximately Euro 9.6 billion, consisting of a payment of Euro 3.116 billion to be paid on completion of the sale of the stake of 50% plus two shares, or on 30 September 2000 if sooner, Euro 3.657 billion to Euro 3.807 billion to be paid upon the exercise of certain options between closing and 31 December 2003, and Euro 2.827 billion of pension and non-trading financial liabilities to be assumed by Siemens AG and Robert Bosch AG. The proceeds from the sale will be used to reduce Group net debt. On 27 April 2000, the UK business was successful in acquiring the largest 3G licence available to an existing operator at a cost of £5.964 billion. On 17 May 2000, the Group and VivendiNet (a joint venture between Vivendi and Canal+) announced that an agreement had been signed for the creation of a new joint venture company, VIZZAVI, to establish a multi-access Internet portal for Europe. The Group and VivendiNet will both have a 50% shareholding in the new company. Vivendi has indicated its interest in purchasing the Group's entire 15% shareholding in Cegetel's capital stock. Outlook Vodafone AirTouch is very well positioned technically, financially and managerially not only to enjoy the rapid growth still to come in mobile telephony but also to lead the way in multi-access Internet service development, in the best markets in the world. MORE TO FOLLOW FR EAESEDLXEEEE
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