Germany and Romania caused a writedown of €4.5bn, mostly offset by growth elsewhere, while Vodafone UK still faces £120m legal claim
Vodafone Group has reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBIDTA) of €10.9 billion for the financial year that finished at the end of March. This reflected a rise of 2.5%. Vodafone’s revenues for the full year rose 2.0% to €37.4 billion, and within that, service revenue grew organically by 5.1% to €30.8 billion.
However, the group reported an operating loss of €400 million after having to write down €4.5 billion in Germany and Romania, although this was largely offset by growth across the rest of Europe, Africa and Turkey.
In Germany, Vodafone Group’s largest market, earnings before EBIDTA fell 12.6% to €4.4 billion. Vodafone’s TV customer base halved between July 2024 and March 2025 after a change in legislation which meant dwellers in multi-tenanted buildings were allowed to choose their own broadband provider rather than being obliged to use the one chosen for the entire building by its owner.
The change had a long notice period yet Vodafone Germany did not appear to have a plan to counter its effects. The operator group expressed confidence that it will return Germany to “top-line growth” this year.
UK ups and downs
On the earnings call, Group CEO Margherita Della Valle said it would spend £1.5 billion to upgrade its UK network this year: the operator had to commit to investing £11 billion on its UK infrastructure in total to win regulatory approval for the imminent merger with Three, which was granted last year.
The operator said it would extend its coverage and make technical improvements as it integrates its infrastructure and Three’s. Once the transaction is complete, Vodafone will hold a 51% stake in the company which will have about 28 million mobile customers in total.
However, Vodafone still faces a £120 million legal claim brought by a group of 62 franchisees. Since the case was filed last December, the parties have been in mediation in an effort to reach an amicable agreement, but failed to do so. Della Valle said on the earnings call that Vodafone intended to continue discussions with the franchisees.
For their part, in a statement issued yesterday, the group of franchisees said, “Vodafone today announced what it hails as a strong set of financial results, with UK service revenue up 5.1% – driven, it claims, by business growth and improved customer loyalty. But for many of us, these headline numbers mask a deeper reality: they have come at a significant human and economic cost.
“We, as a group, feel we were not treated as valued partners, but as financial shock absorbers – subjected to irrational and arbitrary business decisions that left many of us with crippling debt and serious mental and physical health impacts.” This refers to a series of measures put in place by Vodafone in the wake of the first pandemic lockdown.
The statement continued, “Vodafone has made no mention of it in today’s financial report and has not listed it as a contingent liability.
“At this point, we have to ask: is Vodafone taking this claim seriously, or is it hoping strong financial headlines will drown out scrutiny?”
Looking forward
Talking about the wider picture and the new financial year, Margherita Della Vallesaid, “There is huge excitement from the side of Vodafone for day one.”
For this year, Vodafone Group predicts EBIDTA of between €7.2 billion and €7.4 billion in Europe, which apparently is slightly less than analysts’ expectations of €7.5 billion.
For the entire group, Vodafone is forecasting EBIDTA of between €11 billion and €11.3 billion for the current financial year. It also announced a new €2 billion share buyback, including the immediate acquisition of the first €500 million.
Net debt fell €10.8 billion to €22.4 billion, aided by the sale of its operations in Spain and Italy. Underlying free cash flow fell by €0.1bn to €2.5bn.
