Overall, the company says the results were in line with its expectations for the period, with Group revenues having declined 2.3% to €21.4 billion. This was due to the effects of Covid-19 on roaming and visitor revenue, as well as lower handset sales.
The company’s free cash flow grew by 14.5% to €0.5 billion, thanks to the “resilient EBITDA performance and higher dividends from associates and investments, partially offset by higher cash interest and tax”, according to the Group.
“Today’s results underline increased confidence in our full year outlook. We are reporting a resilient first half performance and we continue to see good commercial momentum across the Group. The results demonstrate the success of our strategic priorities to date, namely increasing customer loyalty, growing our fixed broadband base, driving digitisation to simplify the company and capture significant cost savings, and deliver 5G efficiently through network sharing,” said Nick Read (pictured), Group chief executive, Vodafone Group.
Additionally, adjusted EBITDA for the period declined by 1.9% to €7 billion as the decline in revenue was partially offset by good cost control with net Europe opex savings of €0.3 billion.
As a result, the interim dividend per share of 4.50 eurocents, record date 18 December 2020. This is compared to a loss per share of 7.24 eurocents in the six months ended 30 September 2019.
“Covid-19 and the reduction in roaming revenues, through the significant reduction in international travel, is currently obscuring our underlying commercial progress, with Q2 service revenue growing by 1.5% excluding roaming,” added Read.
“We are now two years into our longer-term strategy to transform Vodafone into a business that enables a digital society, generating both sustainable growth and attractive returns. We are executing at pace, but there remains more to be done to achieve our goals. Now, more than ever, the connectivity services we provide are critical for society and the demand is growing for our services. I am proud of how our dedicated employees have worked tirelessly around the clock to keep everyone connected.”
The company also shared its outlook for the rest of the financial year and based on the current “global macroeconomic outlook”.
Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between €14.4 – 14.6 billion for the full year with free cash flow to be at least €5 billion, this excludes any spectrum or restructuring commitments.
