LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The telecoms regulator on Thursday fined the Greek unit of UK mobile giant Vodafone 19.1 mln eur for violating network regulations in a wire-tapping scandal that rocked the country last year.

The fine is the second handed to Vodafone Hellas over the case after a 76 mln eur penalty levelled by Greece's communication privacy watchdog last December.

Some 100 Vodafone cellphones in February 2006 were found to have been compromised by an illicit network that tapped sets used by Greek Premier Costas Karamanlis, his wife and several ministers from June 2004 to March 2005.

The tapping used software slipped into Vodafone's network by unknown perpetrators to illegally activate an Ericsson-made module permitting call interception.

On Thursday, the national telecommunications regulator EETT accused Vodafone of breaching regulations on the protection of telecommunications privacy, network maintenance and quality, and consumer protection.

The company rejected last December's fine as 'illegal, unfair and baseless.'

A Greek parliament committee collecting evidence on the case last November noted the involvement of three employees of telecoms giants Ericsson Hellas and Vodafone Greece, identified only by their initials.

'The whole system could not operate without Ericsson know-how and without access from within (Vodafone),' the report said.

The Greek branch of Swedish telecom equipment giant Ericsson has also been fined 7.36 mln eur over the case.

The parliamentary committee did not rule out the involvement of other people operating outside Greece.

The Greek justice department has opened an investigation into the case but nobody has yet been charged.

Days before the affair came to light, a senior Vodafone expert was found hanged inside his home.

The death of Costas Tsalikidis, manager of Vodafone Greece's network planning section, was linked to the case and his family suspects he was murdered.

Govt to refund money to Vodafone: Khurshid

NEW DELHI: Within hours of Supreme Court dismissing the review petition in the Vodafone's tax case, Law Minister Salman Khurshid said the government will have to refund money (about Rs 2,500 crore and interest) to the firm.

it now looks like 200p quite soon

predeteur. what is the point of buy back if they are not destoying them .

i guess if they destroy them then those that are left are fewer.
if they are fewer and on same pe ratio as previous then price per share increases.
that i understand.
sometimes they are put into treasury. whatever that means. i always thought it meant cancellation or something like that.
are they destroying them? or holding them in treasury?
who owns this treasure? and why? or how? lol how little i know. it would be nice to be enlightened by someone.
regards to all
jkd

Treasury shares


Treasury share are shares held by the company that issued them. A company acquires treasury shares by buying them in the market.

In the UK, Treasury shares can be cancelled, sold, or used in employee share (or share option) schemes. Companies are required to disclose their holding of treasury shares and any sales, cancellations or transfers.

The commonest use of treasury share among UK listed companies seems to be to hold shares for employee share schemes.

Treasury shares do not receive dividends or rights and they cannot be used to vote at or attend company meetings. They are shown on the balance sheet, but they are deducted from share capital.

Treasury shares are disregarded in calculating undiluted EPS.

in the case of vod they are for the directors future bonus so they will not
do anything for holders . or the sp as they will be re issued to directors .
it stinks .this company as done nothing for holders for over 5 years back to 07 SP

Tanker - you posted this the other day, which is why I posted the comparison chart in 263.

Vodafone case: Govt readies fresh salvo


NEW DELHI: The revenue department is ready with a fresh plan to issue a new demand notice on cellphone operator Vodafone, a day after the Supreme Court rejected the government's review petition in the country's biggest tax case.

Finance ministry officials say that the tax department will issue a notice to Vodafone within 45 days of the passage of the Finance Bill, which is expected to get parliamentary nod in May. The department will issue another under the IT Act to make Vodafone a representative assessee as tax authorities are unable to issue a demand on Hutch that sold the stake to Vodafone. "It will be a new chapter in the case. We will send them a fresh notice once the Finance Bill is passed. Since Hutch is no longer present in India, we will make Vodafone a representative assessee ," a finance ministry official told TOI. Officials said that Vodafone is likely to challenge the validity of the new law. "It will be a longdrawn affair and we are prepared for it," the official said.

vod to sell stake in vw ?

it will be very good news for holders and the directors

the share buy back is not a buy back the shares are and will be re issued to the directors and employees so will NOT help holders ask vod .it is a con

s
thanks for your prompt reply post 274
and for the enlightenment re vod treasury shares
regards to you.
jkd
ps and this is just from memory bt.a at 240sh is mega. go take a good long term look. good luck.

Vodafone in dispute with India

StockMarketWire.com

Vodafone has served the Indian government with a Notice of Dispute ("Notice") regarding proposals in the Indian Finance Bill 2012 that violate the international legal protections granted to Vodafone and other international investors in India.

The Notice, served by the group's Dutch subsidiary Vodafone International Holdings ("VIHBV), is the first step required prior to starting international arbitration under the Bilateral Investment Treaty ("BIT") between India and the Netherlands. VIHBV is a company constituted under the laws of the Netherlands and therefore an investor as defined under Article 1(d) of the Treaty.

The dispute arises from the retrospective tax legislation proposed by the Indian government which, if enacted, would have serious consequences for a wide range of Indian and international businesses, as well as direct and negative consequences for Vodafone.

The proposed legislation would also countermand the verdict of the Indian Supreme Court in January 2012, which ruled that Vodafone had no liability to account for withholding tax on its acquisition of indirect interests in Hutchison Essar in 2007.

Under the BIT, the Indian government is obliged, among other requirements, to:

· accord fair and equitable treatment to investors;

· provide full protection and security;

· not breach the legitimate expectations of investors in making investments;

· not deny justice or breach previously provided assurances; and

· not take steps to indirectly expropriate the investment.

Vodafone believes that the retrospective tax proposals amount to a denial of justice and a breach of the Indian government's obligations under the BIT to accord fair and equitable treatment to investors.

The Indian government's retrospective tax proposals have also raised significant and widespread concern within India and internationally and have been criticised by businesses and industry bodies representing more than 250,000 companies across the US, Europe and Asia.

Vodafone has asked the Indian government to abandon or suitably to amend the retrospective aspects of the proposed legislation as Vodafone would prefer to reach an amicable solution to this matter. However, if the Indian government is not willing to do so, Vodafone will take whatever steps are necessary to protect its shareholders' interests, including starting investment treaty arbitration proceedings under the BIT against the Indian government.

It's a big week for telecoms results next week, with Vodafone reporting year-end figures on Tuesday. Vodafone just seems to be the perpetual high-dividend FTSE 100 share these days, with more than 7% forecast this year from its 166p shares. And though the share price hasn't really appreciated very much over the past few years, the dividends have turned it into a decent investment. Will the share price ever be re-rated upwards based on those high returns? If the payouts carry on at this level, it surely has to, eventually

Vodafone poised to net £8bn from Verizon Wireless venture

Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao is expected to point to a potential $13 billion (£8.2 billion) of future gains from its US joint venture Verizon Wireless when he unveils increased full-year profits from the mobile phone giant this week.
Verizon Wireless, a joint venture with US firm Verizon Communications in which Vodafone has a 45 per cent stake, could return a dividend of up to $13 billion in the financial year ahead, analysts estimate.


Vodafone’s £1bn C&WW bid may be diluted

Vodafone could be forced to share Cable & Wireless Worldwide (C&WW) with the beleaguered telecoms company’s biggest shareholder, Orbis, in the face of considerable shareholder unrest over its £1bn bid to buy the company outright


Vodafone weathers European storm

Booming demand for mobile internet access in the UK and strong growth in emerging markets will help Vodafone weather the financial storm in southern Europe on Tuesday.
The mobile phone giant's shares approached their pre-financial crisis peaks in early 2012 but have weakened in recent months amid fears that its stellar growth is beginning to slow.

The Newbury-based firm's performance has been hit by recessions in Spain and Italy while the fees it can charge for connecting mobile calls are being reduced in markets such as the UK. These effects are offsetting gains from its rapid growth in India and Turkey, and from growing demand for data as people use smartphones to get online.
Its last update disappointed investors after its European business suffered a 1.7% underlying revenue decline in the final quarter of 2011, helping slow the group's growth for the third quarter in a row.

But Will Draper, an analyst at Espirito Santo, thinks Vodafone will regain momentum in the three months to the end of March as it increases market share in mobile data. He also thinks the decline in its southern European markets will bottom out.

Final Results.

Robust financial performance in a difficult environment

· Group revenue up 1.2% to £46.4 billion; full year organic service revenue growth +1.5%*; Q4 +2.3%*

· EBITDA down 1.3% at £14.5 billion; EBITDA margin 31.2%, down 0.8 percentage points (0.6 percentage points before restructuring costs)

· Verizon Wireless service revenue up 7.3%*; our share of profits up 9.3%* to £4.9 billion

· Adjusted operating profit at £11.5 billion, up 2.5%* on an organic basis

· Gain on disposal of investments of £3.5 billion (Note 1) and impairment charges of £4.0 billion

· Free cash flow £6.1 billion after capex of £6.4 billion

· Final dividend per share of 6.47 pence, giving total dividends per share for the year of 13.52 pence (including 4.0 pence special dividend), up +51.9%

now think about CW as a target for VOD's cash

It has been for months.

indeed, but now VOD have their Verizon dosh, it's possible they may start moving slowly

31 May 2012


VODAFONE LAUNCHES BREAKTHROUGH MASS-MARKET SMARTPHONE

Smart II a step-change in delivering the mobile internet to value-focused consumers worldwide


31 May, 2012. Vodafone today announced the launch of the Smart II, a breakthrough smartphone for the mass market, which offers an unprecedented combination of high performance and low cost in a package attractive to the large majority of consumers currently missing out on the smartphone revolution.

The Vodafone Smart II has twice the processing power of the most expensive and sought-after smartphones available just three years ago, but at a fraction of the price. It offers new smartphone users a high-end mobile internet experience and an uncompromised level of functionality, including:

· a highly responsive HVGA capacitive touchscreen with 64 million colours;

· brand new Broadcom 21552 with 832MHz processor and 512MB of RAM - the computing power of high-end smartphones 3 years ago;

· high-speed 3G HSDPA and Wi-Fi connectivity;

· 3.2 megapixel camera with white LED flash; and

· the latest Assisted GPS (AGPS) technology for rapid and accurate mapping and navigation functions.


The Smart II is also highly customisable, with interchangeable back plates and rims in 16 colour variations.*

Vodafone has designed the Smart II to introduce non-smartphone consumers to a new world of content and services that will save them time, money and help them manage their daily lives, including:

· high-speed mobile internet browsing, including voice-activated Google Search™;

· access to the latest news, entertainment and transport apps for information on the move;

· emails, contacts and calendars;

· social networking services such as Facebook™ and Twitter™;

· money-saving services such as the Vouchercloud, a location-based shopping discount voucher app; and

· dedicated Vodafone apps which make it simple for customers to track their spending and download the best new apps and music.


Patrick Chomet, Group Terminals Director said: "The Smart II is one of the most important devices we have ever introduced. It delivers a level of performance, functionality and quality that is traditionally the preserve of high-end smartphones but at an exceptionally affordable price. We believe the Smart II could represent a tipping point in the evolution of the market, bringing a new wave of consumers to the supermobile world for the first time."

The Smart II will be available across Vodafone markets and partner markets this summer and will be priced under €99, launching first in the UK priced at £70.

- ends -