Vodafone 1998 Annual Report Download - page 3

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Annual Report and Accounts 1998 - Company Review - Statement by the Chairman
Sir Ernest Harrison OBE
CHAIRMAN
A strong market position in the UK and an extensive
international presence put Vodafone in an excellent
position to continue to deliver sustained growth and
increased shareholder value.
It gives me great pleasure to report results for the year which reflect further significant growth of
the Group and which position it well for the future. Turnover was £2,471m (1997 - £1,749m), an
increase of 41%, and profit on ordinary activities before taxation amounted to £650.2m (1997 -
£539.1m), an increase of 21%.
The Group's international businesses contributed £122.4m to total Group operating profit,
compared to £18.0m for 1997, and increased the number of customers, proportionate to the
Group's equity interests, by over 1,265,000. The Group's worldwide customer base at the end of
the year was over 5,844,000, proportionate to equity stakes, an increase of 46%.
Operating cash flow increased by 41% to £886.4m (1997 - £627.9m), of which £491.5m was used
to fund capital expenditure primarily to enhance networks in the UK, Australia and Greece.
The directors are recommending a final dividend of 2.82p per share (1997 - 2.45p), giving a total
for the year of 5.53p (1997 - 4.81p), an increase of 15%.
In the UK, Vodafone Limited, the market leader, enjoyed another good year, ending the year with over
3.4 million customers. In the twelve months to 31 March 1998, an additional 563,000 customers joined
the Vodafone network and in the last quarter of the financial year there were 172,000 net connections,
more than twice the number in the equivalent period of the preceding year. Three substantial tariff
reductions were introduced, bringing savings to every Vodafone digital customer and many analogue
customers. The adoption by the Group of a new corporate identity and logo, an extensive pre-Christmas
advertising campaign, promoting both the Vodafone brand and services, and the success of the new
'Pay As You Talk' service, which was launched just before Christmas and attracted over 136,000
customers, all contributed to the strong growth in customer numbers.
http://www.vodafone.com/download/investor/reports/annual98/companyreview/chasta.html (1 of 3)29/03/2007 23:04:59