Vodafone Italia closes the 2021-2022 accounts on March 31 of this year in a two-speed framework. The strong competitive pressure on mobile remains - a fact that has characterized the Italian market as a whole for some time now - and so revenues from services are confirmed to be declining but recovering. The fixed network, on the other hand, is growing with revenues, customers and fiber on the rise. The data on Italy were communicated by Vodafone Group which published the annual report a few days beforeentry of Emirates Telecommunications in the capital with a share of 9,8%. Here are all the numbers of the 2021-22 budget.
Vodafone Italy: mobile services under pressure, growth in landlines
Vodafone Italia achieved revenues from services of 4,379 billion euros. The figure shows a decrease of 1,8% compared to the previous year, confirming the improvement of the trend on a quarterly basis (I quarter -3,6%; II quarter -1,4%; III quarter -1,3%; IV quarter -0,8%).
Revenues from fixed network services, amounting to 1,23 billion, grew by 2% and broadband customers numbered 3,1 million, up by 1,9% over the previous year (+57.000). The performance for the year, underlines the company, "is influenced in particular by the persistent competitive intensity especially in the mobile segment, partially offset by the growth of the wholesale and fixed network segments".
Ebitda, equal to 1,699 billion, is up by 6,4% compared to the previous year. There are 5 cities covered with 60G technology. Vodafone's fiber services reach 25,9 million households and businesses. FWA (Fixed Wireless Access) coverage is available in 5.000 municipalities in all Italian regions, equal to 3,1 million households.
Vodafone Group: growing revenues. Inflation challenge on 2023
The group's overall revenues grew by 4% to 45,6 billion euros, driven by the increase in services revenues in Europe and Africa. Service revenues up 2,6% to $38,2 billion, adjusted EbitdaaL (gross operating margin after leasing) up 5% to $15,2 billion “thanks to revenue growth and strong cost control , supported by a legal agreement in Italy”. The profit rose to 2,6 billion against the 500 million of the previous year.
The group will distribute a total dividend of 9 euro cents, including the 4,5 cents currently being paid. Positive comment from CEO Nick Read: “We achieved a good financial performance during the year with growth in revenues, profits and cash flows, in line with our medium-term financial targets. Our organic growth supported a dramatic change in our return on capital, which improved 170 basis points to 7,2%. While we are not immune to macroeconomic challenges in Europe and Africa, we are well positioned to handle them and expect to deliver a resilient financial performance over the next year."
The first of these challenges concerns inflation. For the new fiscal year ending 31 March 2023, Vodafone estimates an adjusted EbitdaaL between 15 and 15,5 billion and a free cash flow of approximately 5,3 billion. However, the group points out that "the current macroeconomic climate presents specific challenges, in particular inflation, and is likely to affect our financial performance in the year ahead".
Vodafone Group shares were up slightly to +0,28% at 12:08 on Tuesday 17 May and are trading at 120.40 GBP on the LSE.
