Vodafone 1999 Annual Report Download - page 23

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 23 of the 1999 Vodafone annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 77

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77

Financial Review
Basic earnings per share
Basic earnings per share increased by 51% from 13.63p to 20.61p. Basic earnings per share before
fixed asset investment disposals and goodwill amortisation increased by 47% from 12.82p to 18.82p.
Dividends
The second interim dividend declared by the Board of 3.24p produces a total for the year of 6.36p, an
increase of 15%, and reflects the Group’s underlying profitability and liquidity. Dividend cover
increased to 3.2 times compared to 2.5 times in the year ended 31 March 1998.
Share price
The share price has shown healthy growth since the Company floated in 1988 at an issue price of
170p, which is now equivalent to 56.7p following the capitalisation issue in July 1994. Annual
compound growth in the share price over the five year period to 31 March 1999 was 46%.
This increase in the share price in the year reflected the general rise in equity prices and increased
confidence in the Group’s prospects, particularly given the strong customer growth and the proposed
merger with AirTouch.
BACK TO TOP
Year 2000
The Group is giving high priority to the impact of the millennium and is taking significant and positive steps to minimise the
effect of the date change issues before, after and during the year 2000 on its ability to maintain its networks and to
continue to provide services to customers. The Group initiated a comprehensive millennium programme, which seeks to
ensure that the Group does not experience difficulties resulting from failures of hardware, software and electronic
http://www.vodafone.com/download/investor/reports/annual99/financial_review.htm (8 of 10)30/03/2007 00:08:22