Vodafone 2006 Annual Report Download - page 48

46 Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2006
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This document contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the US
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to the Group’s financial
condition, results of operations and businesses and certain of the Group’s plans and
objectives. In particular, such forward-looking statements include statements with
respect to Vodafone’s expectations as to launch and roll out dates for products, services
or technologies offered by Vodafone; intentions regarding the development of products
and services introduced by Vodafone or by Vodafone in conjunction with initiatives with
third parties; the ability to integrate all operations throughout the Group in the same
format and on the same technical platform and the ability to be operationally efficient;
the development and impact of new mobile technology; anticipated benefits to the
Group of the One Vodafone programme; the results of Vodafone’s brand awareness and
brand preference campaigns; growth in customers and usage, including improvements
in customer mix; future performance, including turnover, average revenue per user
(“ARPU”), cash flows, costs, capital expenditures and margins, non-voice services and
their revenue contribution; share purchases; the rate of dividend growth by the Group or
its existing investments; expectations regarding the Group’s access to adequate funding
for its working capital requirements; expected effective tax rates and expected tax
payments; the ability to realise synergies through cost savings, revenue generating
services, benchmarking and operational experience; future acquisitions, including
increases in ownership in existing investments and pending offers for investments;
future disposals; contractual obligations; mobile penetration and coverage rates; the
impact of regulatory and legal proceedings involving Vodafone; expectations with
respect to long-term shareholder value growth; Vodafone’s ability to be the mobile
market leader, overall market trends and other trend projections.
Forward-looking statements are sometimes, but not always, identified by their use of a
date in the future or such words as “anticipates”, “aims”, “could”, “may”, “should”,
“expects”, “believes”, “intends”, “plans” or “targets”. By their nature, forward-looking
statements are inherently predictive, speculative and involve risk and uncertainty
because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the
future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developments
to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following:
•changes in economic or political conditions in markets served by operations of the
Group that would adversely affect the level of demand for mobile services;
•greater than anticipated competitive activity, from both existing competitors and
new market entrants, including MVNOs, which could require changes to the Group’s
pricing models, lead to customer churn and make it more difficult to acquire new
customers and reduce profitability;
•the impact of investment in network capacity and the deployment of new
technologies, or the rapid obsolescence of existing technology;
•slower than expected customer growth and reduced customer retention;
•changes in spending patterns of existing customers;
•the possibility that new products and services, including mobile internet platforms,
3G, Vodafone live!, Vodafone Radio DJ and other products and services, will not be
commercially accepted or perform according to expectations or that vendors’
performance in marketing these technologies will not meet the Group’s
requirements;
•the Group’s ability to win 3G licence allocations;
•the Group’s ability to realise expected synergies and benefits associated with
3G technologies;
•a lower than expected impact of GPRS, 3G, Vodafone live!, Vodafone Radio DJ and
other new or existing products, services or technologies on the Group’s future
revenue, cost structure and capital expenditure outlays;
•the ability of the Group to harmonise mobile platforms and delays, impediments or
other problems associated with the roll out and scope of 3G technology, Vodafone
live!, Vodafone Radio DJ and other new or existing products, services or
technologies in new markets;
•the ability of the Group to offer new services and secure the timely delivery of high
quality, reliable GPRS and 3G handsets, network equipment and other key products
from suppliers;
•the Group’s ability to develop competitive data content and services that will attract
new customers and increase average usage;
•future revenue contributions of both voice and non-voice services;
•greater than anticipated prices of new mobile handsets;
•changes in the costs to the Group of or the rates the Group may charge for
terminations and roaming minutes;
•the Group’s ability to achieve meaningful cost savings and revenue improvements
as a result of its One Vodafone initiative;
•the ability to realise benefits from entering into partnerships for developing data
and internet services and entering into service franchising and brand licensing;
•the possibility that the pursuit of new, unexpected strategic opportunities may have
a negative impact on the Group’s financial performance;
•developments in the Group’s financial condition, earnings and distributable funds
and other factors that the Board takes into account in determining the level of
dividends;
•any unfavourable conditions, regulatory or otherwise, imposed in connection with
pending or future acquisitions or disposals and the integration of acquired
companies in the Group’s existing obligations;
•the risk that, upon obtaining control of certain investments, the Group discovers
additional information relating to the businesses of that investment leading to
restructuring charges or write-offs or other negative implications;
•changes in the regulatory framework in which the Group operates, including
possible action by regulators in markets in which the Group operates or by the EU
regulating rates the Group is permitted to charge;
•the impact of legal or other proceedings against the Group or other companies in
the mobile telecommunications industry;
•the possibility that new marketing or usage stimulation campaigns or efforts and
customer retention schemes are not an effective expenditure;
•the possibility that the Group’s integration efforts do not reduce the time to market
for new products or improve the Group’s cost position;
•loss of suppliers or disruption of supply chains;
•the Group’s ability to satisfy working capital requirements through borrowing in
capital markets, bank facilities and operations;
•changes in exchange rates, including particularly the exchange rate of pounds
sterling to the euro and the US dollar;
•changes in statutory tax rates and profit mix which would impact the weighted
average tax rate;
•changes in tax legislation in the jurisdictions in which the Group operates;
•final resolution of open issues which might impact the effective tax rate; and
•timing of tax payments relating to the resolution of open issues.
Furthermore, a review of the reasons why actual results and developments may differ
materially from the expectations disclosed or implied within forward-looking statements
can be found under “Risk Factors, Trends and Outlook – Risk Factors” on pages 43 to 44.
All subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Company
or any member of the Group or any persons acting on their behalf are expressly qualified
in their entirety by the factors referred to above. No assurances can be given that the
forward-looking statements in this document will be realised. Neither Vodafone nor any
of its affiliates intends to update these forward-looking statements.