Key Performance Indicators
Vodafone Group Plc
28 January 2004
28 January 2004
VODAFONE ANNOUNCES STRONGEST ORGANIC CUSTOMER GROWTH FOR 3 YEARS
Vodafone Group Plc ('Vodafone') announces today key performance indicators for
the quarter ended 31 December 2003. The main highlights are:
• Over 4.3 million organic net additions in the quarter, increasing the
proportionate customer base to over 130.4 million
• Blended annual ARPU up €4 to €359 in Italy, stable at €311 in Germany
and reduced Y1,901 to Y82,917 in Japan, compared to September 2003. Excluding
the £4 uplift from acquiring Singlepoint, ARPU in the UK was up £2 to £299
• Total data revenues increased to 15.9% of controlled service revenues
for the year to December 2003 from 13.9% for the prior year
• 4.5 million controlled Vodafone live! customers at the end of
December, with a further 0.4 million customers in non-controlled operations
• Mobile Connect Card customers in controlled operations increased to
167,000
Arun Sarin, Chief Executive of Vodafone, commented: 'These are a great set of
KPI's, recording our strongest organic customer growth in 3 years. We continue
to be delighted with the progress of Vodafone live! which has proved to be a
real point of difference during the last quarter in many of our markets.
'Overall, these figures are slightly better than our expectations and are
consistent with the outlook we gave at our interim results. This solid
performance provides a strong platform for the year ahead.'
Customer Growth
In total, over 5.1 million registered proportionate customers were added in the
quarter, including 0.8 million from stake changes, primarily in Greece. The
total proportionate base increased to 130.4 million, up nearly 16% on December
2002.
A strong competitive performance in Germany and Italy showed through in
proportionate net additions of 888,000 and 507,000 respectively. In the UK, net
additions of 464,000 were at the highest level since March 2001, demonstrating
the increased level of investment in growth.
Vodafone live! customers increased to 4.5 million in controlled operations. The
UK passed 1 million customers during the quarter, reaching 1,030,000 customers
by 31 December 2003, with Germany at 1,580,000 and Italy at 780,000. Vodafone
live! is now available in 15 countries, including 2 associates in France and
Switzerland, and will be launched in Belgium during 2004. Since its launch on 29
October 2003, SFR in France added 330,000 customers by the end of the year.
In addition, the Group has a further 12.8 million Vodafone live! customers
following the rebranding of J-Sky in Japan on 1 October 2003. Over 86% of
Vodafone K.K.'s registered customer base has a Vodafone live! enabled handset.
Active customers in the Group's controlled businesses were unchanged at 93% of
total customers.
Registered Blended ARPU
Blended ARPU in the UK increased to £303 for the year to December 2003, up from
£297 for the year to September 2003. The increase in blended and contract ARPU
benefited by £4 and £10 respectively from the acquisition of Singlepoint, which
was completed on 22 September 2003. Prepay and contract ARPU also improved as a
result of increased usage.
In Italy, blended ARPU increased from €355 to €359, driven by the continued
focus on higher value customers, particularly in the corporate segment. Blended
ARPU in Germany remained stable at €311, with lower usage, but lower subsidy,
contract tariffs remaining popular.
In Japan, blended ARPU continued to reduce, reflecting the success of the prepay
offering, the competitive environment and increasing penetration in the Japanese
market.
Data as a percentage of service revenues
For the Group's controlled operations, data as a percentage of service revenues
continued to grow, increasing to 15.9% for the year to December 2003, up from
15.5% for the year to September. Data in the month of December 2003 was 17.3%,
up from 16.0% in December 2002.
Excluding Japan, the percentage of service revenues from non-messaging data
revenue has increased from 0.7% in December 2002 to 1.6% in December 2003,
demonstrating the initial benefits from Vodafone live! and new business services
during 2003.
- ends -
For further information:
Vodafone Group
Tim Brown, Group Corporate Affairs Director
Tel: +44 (0) 1635 673310
Investor Relations
Melissa Stimpson
Darren Jones
Tel: +44 (0) 1635 673310
Media Relations
Bobby Leach
Ben Padovan
Tel: +44 (0) 1635 673310
Tavistock Communications
Lulu Bridges
Justin Griffiths
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7920 3150
VODAFONE GROUP PLC - MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUSINESSES
PROPORTIONATE NET CUSTOMERS - 1 OCTOBER 2003 TO 31 DECEMBER 2003
COUNTRY PERCENTAGE AT NET STAKE AT PREPAID(3)
OWNERSHIP(1) 1 OCT ADDITIONS CHANGES(2) 31 DEC
2003 2003
(%) (000s) (000s) (000s) (000s) (%)
UK & IRELAND
UK 100.0% 13,483 464 - 13,947 59%
Ireland 100.0% 1,803 68 - 1,871 72%
TOTAL 15,286 532 - 15,818 61%
NORTHERN EUROPE
Germany 100.0% 23,780 888 - 24,668 52%
Hungary 87.9% 1,061 109 - 1,170 84%
Netherlands 99.9% 3,351 47 2 3,400 57%
Sweden 99.1% 1,368 41 - 1,409 34%
Others 9,064 319 - 9,383 49%
TOTAL 38,624 1,404 2 40,030 51%
SOUTHERN EUROPE
Italy 76.8% 15,345 507 - 15,852 92%
Albania 93.1% 393 29 50 472 97%
Greece 86.0% 2,472 * * * *
Malta 100.0% 158 4 - 162 92%
Portugal 100.0% 3,243 89 - 3,332 73%
Spain 100.0% 9,399 286 - 9,685 57%
Others 595 * * * *
TOTAL 31,605 929 798 33,332 78%
AMERICAS
United
States(4) 44.3% 15,960 678 - 16,638 6%
TOTAL 15,960 678 - 16,638 6%
ASIA PACIFIC
Japan 69.7% 10,140 128 - 10,268 8%
Australia 100.0% 2,627 49 - 2,676 55%
New Zealand 100.0% 1,429 98 - 1,527 79%
Others 4,465 216 - 4,681 64%
TOTAL 18,661 491 - 19,152 59%
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
Egypt 67.0% 1,729 109 - 1,838 82%
Others 3,396 204 - 3,600 87%
TOTAL 5,125 313 - 5,438 86%
GROUP TOTAL 125,261 4,347 800 130,408 55%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) All percentages are stated as at 31 December 2003 and exclude options,
warrants or other rights or obligations of the Company to increase or
decrease ownership in any venture. Ownership interests have been rounded to
the nearest tenth of one percent.
(2) Represents a stake increase in Vodafone Netherlands of 0.1% from 99.8%
to 99.9%, a stake increase in Vodafone Albania of 10.1% from 83.0% to 93.1%
and a stake increase in Vodafone Greece of 20.6% from 65.4% to 86.0%.
(3) Prepaid customer percentages are calculated on a venture basis. At 31
December 2003, there were 327.1 million total venture customers.
(4) The Group's proportionate customer base has been adjusted for Verizon
Wireless's proportionate ownership of its customer base across all its
network interests of approximately 98.5% at 31 December 2003. In the absence
of acquired interests, this proportionate ownership will vary slightly from
quarter to quarter depending on the underlying mix of net additions across
each of these networks.
* Listed subsidiary still to report.
VODAFONE GROUP PLC - MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUSINESSES
CONTROLLED ACTIVE CUSTOMER INFORMATION AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2003
CONTROLLED ACTIVE(1)
------------------------------------------
COUNTRY PREPAID CONTRACT TOTAL
(%) (%) (%)
UK & IRELAND
UK 88% 95% 91%
Ireland 99% 99% 99%
TOTAL 90% 95% 92%
NORTHERN EUROPE
Germany 90% 95% 92%
Hungary 88% 99% 90%
Netherlands 91% 99% 94%
Sweden 97% 94% 95%
TOTAL 90% 96% 93%
SOUTHERN EUROPE
Italy 93% 93% 93%
Albania 87% 97% 87%
Greece * * *
Malta 99% 98% 99%
Portugal 84% 99% 88%
Spain 95% 95% 95%
TOTAL 92% 95% 92%
ASIA PACIFIC
Japan 80% 99% 98%
Australia 90% 90% 90%
New Zealand 97% 98% 97%
TOTAL 89% 99% 97%
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
Egypt 96% 97% 97%
TOTAL 96% 97% 97%
CONTROLLED
GROUP TOTAL 91% 96% 93%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTROLLED ACTIVE CUSTOMER INFORMATION - HISTORY
CONTROLLED ACTIVE CUSTOMERS AS AT
---------------------------------------------------------------
COUNTRY DECEMBER MARCH JUNE SEPTEMBER DECEMBER
2002 2003 2003 2003 2003
(%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Germany 92 92 93 92 92
Italy 95 95 93 94 93
Japan 99 98 98 98 98
UK 92 91 91 91 91
Controlled Total 94 93 93 93 93
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Active customers are defined as customers who have made or received a
chargeable event in the last 3 months.
* Listed subsidiary still to report.
VODAFONE GROUP PLC - MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUSINESSES
MONTHLY REGISTERED BLENDED ARPU FOR THE 15 MONTHS TO 31 DECEMBER 2003
Country Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar
2002 2002 2002 2003 2003 2003
-------------------------------------------------------------
Germany EUR 27.4 25.4 25.4 25.6 23.2 25.8
Italy EUR 29.3 28.0 29.5 29.3 26.5 29.1
Japan JPY 7,350 7,120 7,360 7,120 6,840 7,270
UK(2) GBP 25.5 24.3 23.5 24.7 23.4 25.6
Country Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2003 2003 2003 2003 2003 2003 2003 2003 2003
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Germany EUR 25.4 26.2 26.1 27.9 26.7 27.0 27.0 24.9 25.4
Italy EUR 29.4 30.1 30.7 32.2 29.7 31.1 31.1 29.0 30.4
Japan JPY 7,050 7,040 6,850 7,130 7,030 6,710 6,760 6,460 6,690
UK(2) GBP 24.4 25.2 25.5 25.7 24.2 25.6 26.8 26.0 26.2
ARPU INFORMATION FOR THE 12 MONTH PERIOD TO 31 DECEMBER 2003
ARPU(1)
-------------------------------------------------------------
COUNTRY REGISTERED REGISTERED REGISTERED
CURRENCY PREPAID CONTRACT TOTAL
UK & IRELAND
UK(2) GBP 129 543 303
Ireland EUR 361 1,116 582
NORTHERN EUROPE
Germany EUR 130 500 311
Hungary HUF 43,119 174,559 60,384
Netherlands EUR 177 886 471
Sweden SEK 931 6,092 4,531
SOUTHERN EUROPE
Italy EUR 307 880 359
Greece EUR * * *
Malta MTL 96 896 162
Portugal EUR 181 666 321
Spain EUR 162 639 369
ASIA PACIFIC
Japan JPY N/A N/A 82,917
Australia AUD 280 897 579
New Zealand NZD 333 1,836 664
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
Egypt EGP 735 3,052 1,127
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
ARPU - HISTORY
REGISTERED TOTAL ARPU FOR THE 12 MONTH PERIOD TO
---------------------------------------------------
COUNTRY CURRENCY DECEMBER MARCH JUNE SEPTEMBER DECEMBER
2002 2003 2003 2003 2003
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Germany EUR 312 313 313 312 311
Italy EUR 347 347 351 355 359
Japan JPY 88,238 87,159 86,183 84,818 82,917
UK(2) GBP 287 292 297 297 303
(1) ARPU is calculated as total revenues excluding handset revenues and
connection fees divided by the weighted average number of customers during
the period.
(2) During the period from 1 October 2002 to 31 March 2003, Vodafone UK operated
under interim commercial terms with one of its service providers. Final
terms were agreed in April 2003. Recognising revenues on a consistent basis
during the interim period to the bases before and after this period would
result in additional service revenues of £74 million. For consistency and
comparability purposes, these revenues have been included in the calculation
of UK ARPU but have been excluded from Group turnover in accordance with UK
GAAP.
The impact of the inclusion of these amounts has been to increase ARPU for
the 12 months to 31 December 2002, 31 March 2003, 30 June 2003, September
2003 and December 2003 from £284, £286, £291, £292 and £300 to £287, £292,
£297, £297 and £303 respectively.
* Listed subsidiary still to report.
VODAFONE GROUP PLC - MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUSINESSES
NON-VOICE SERVICES AS A PERCENTAGE OF SERVICE REVENUES
PROPORTIONATE BASIS
-------------------
12 MONTHS TO 31 DECEMBER 2003 DECEMBER 2003 (MONTH ONLY)
----------------------------- ---------------------------
COUNTRY MESSAGING DATA TOTAL MESSAGING DATA TOTAL
UK & IRELAND
UK(1) 14.0% 1.5% 15.5% 15.4% 2.1% 17.5%
Ireland 19.4% 1.1% 20.5% 20.5% 1.7% 22.2%
TOTAL 14.8% 1.5% 16.3% 16.1% 2.0% 18.1%
NORTHERN EUROPE
Germany 15.7% 1.5% 17.2% 17.4% 2.1% 19.5%
Others 8.7% 1.1% 9.8% 9.8% 1.6% 11.4%
TOTAL 12.5% 1.3% 13.8% 13.8% 1.9% 15.7%
SOUTHERN EUROPE
Italy 11.9% 0.8% 12.7% 13.5% 1.2% 14.7%
Others 10.0% 0.7% 10.7% 11.3% 1.0% 12.3%
TOTAL 10.9% 0.8% 11.7% 12.4% 1.1% 13.5%
AMERICAS
United States 1.0% 1.2% 2.2% 1.4% 1.7% 3.1%
Others 0.2% 0.1% 0.3% - - -
TOTAL 1.0% 1.2% 2.2% 1.4% 1.7% 3.1%
ASIA PACIFIC
Japan 7.6% 14.2% 21.8% 7.6% 14.8% 22.4%
Others 10.9% 1.3% 12.2% 13.7% 1.2% 14.9%
TOTAL 8.4% 11.2% 19.6% 9.2% 11.4% 20.6%
MIDDLE EAST
AND AFRICA 4.4% 0.1% 4.5% 4.3% 0.1% 4.4%
PROPORTIONATE GROUP TOTAL 9.7% 2.8% 12.5% 11.0% 3.2% 14.2%
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STATUTORY BASIS
---------------
CONTROLLED GROUP TOTAL 11.8% 4.1% 15.9% 12.9% 4.4% 17.3%
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NON-VOICE SERVICES AS A PERCENTAGE OF SERVICE REVENUES - HISTORY
12 MONTHS TO
-------------------------------------------------
COUNTRY DEC MAR JUN SEP DEC
2002 2003 2003 2003 2003
UK (1) 13.9% 14.4% 14.7% 15.0% 15.5%
Germany 16.1% 16.4% 16.7% 17.0% 17.2%
Italy 10.7% 11.3% 11.8% 12.2% 12.7%
Japan 19.3% 20.3% 20.9% 21.3% 21.8%
Proportionate
Total 10.7% 11.3% 11.7% 12.2% 12.5%
Statutory
Total 13.9% 14.6% 15.0% 15.5% 15.9%
NON-VOICE SERVICES AS A PERCENTAGE OF SERVICE REVENUES - HISTORY (cont)
(MONTH ONLY)
-------------------------------------------------
COUNTRY DEC MAR JUN SEP DEC
2002 2003 2003 2003 2003
UK (1) 16.0% 15.2% 14.6% 14.7% 17.5%
Germany 19.2% 16.6% 16.9% 16.3% 19.5%
Italy 12.9% 11.8% 12.5% 12.4% 14.7%
Japan 20.6% 21.7% 21.8% 21.2% 22.4%
Proportionate
Total 12.5% 12.3% 12.1% 12.2% 14.2%
Statutory
Total 16.0% 15.6% 15.3% 15.2% 17.3%
(1) During the period from 1 October 2002 to 31 March 2003, Vodafone UK
operated under interim commercial terms with one of its service providers.
Final terms were agreed in April 2003. Recognising revenues on a consistent
basis during the interim period to the bases before and after this period
would result in additional service revenues of £74 million. For consistency
and comparability purposes, these revenues have been included in the
calculation of non-voice services as a percentage of service revenues.
The impact of the inclusion of these amounts was to decrease UK non-voice
services as a percentage of service revenues for the months of December
2002 and March 2003 from 16.1% and 15.3% to 16.0% and 15.2% respectively.
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