Vodafone Group Plc ⫶ Q1 FY23 trading update

Continued growth in both Europe and Africa, performance in line with expectations

·   Group service revenue growth of 2.5%* (Q4: 2.0%*)

· Germany service revenue declined by 0.5%* (Q4: 0.8%*), largely reflecting the impact of the new Telecommunications Act

·   Europe growth supported by growth acceleration in the UK

·   Europe Consumer contract mobile ARPU grew by 0.7% year-on-year. We added 215,000 mobile contract customers and lost 72,000 broadband customers in the quarter

·   Vodafone Business service revenue growth of 1.7%*, supported by higher roaming and digital services revenue

·  Growth in Africa supported by data revenue and financial services growth, as our M-Pesa customer base grew to almost 50 million in the quarter

·   Service revenue in Turkey increased to 35.8%*, driven by higher inflation, impacting Group service revenue growth by an additional 0.3pp. Group service revenue growth excluding Turkey was 1.6%* (Q4: 1.4%*)

·  On track to deliver FY23 guidance with Adjusted EBITDAaL expected to be between €15.0 - €15.5 billion and Adjusted FCF of c.€5.3 billion

Nick Read, Group Chief Executive, commented:  

"We have executed in line with our expectations, delivered another quarter of growth in both Europe and Africa, and seen an acceleration in business growth. Whilst we are not immune to the current macroeconomic challenges, we're on track to deliver financial results for the year in line with our guidance.

Our near-term focus on our operational and portfolio priorities remains unchanged. We've made good progress towards stabilising our commercial performance in Germany, and we continue to actively pursue opportunities with Vantage Towers and to strengthen our market positions in Europe."

Further details: https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/VOD/vodafone-q1-fy23-trading-update/15553684