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.

Your in the money now skinny, wish I had held on now.,.

Credit Suisse Outperform 224.53 233.95 220.00 250.00 Reiterates

JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight 224.53 233.95 265.00 265.00 Reiterates

Citigroup Buy 224.53 233.95 250.00 250.00 Retains

Down 11p today.,.

Interim Management Statement

Interim management statement for the quarter ended 31 December 2014
5 February 2015

Highlights

· Q3 Group organic service revenue declined 0.4%*; Europe -2.7%*, AMAP 5.9%*
· Steady recovery in Europe, return to growth in UK: Germany -1.0%*, UK 0.9%*, Italy -7.4%*, Spain -8.9%*
· Continued momentum in AMAP despite tougher conditions in South Africa: India 15.0%*, Vodacom -3.9%*, Turkey 11.8%*
· Strong progress on Project Spring: mobile build 50% complete, European 4G coverage 65%
· 4G now available in 18 markets, with 13.7 million 4G customers across the Group
· Integration of KDG and Ono on track, with synergies in line with expectations
· Full year guidance confirmed, EBITDA £11.6 billion to £11.9 billion, free cash flow positive after all capex. Guidance excludes Ono

5 Feb JP Morgan... 265.00 Overweight
5 Feb Espirito... 180.00 Sell
4 Feb Espirito... 180.00 Sell
4 Feb Credit Suisse 250.00 Outperform
4 Feb Citigroup 250.00 Buy
3 Feb Berenberg 214.00 Hold
2 Feb Morgan Stanley 250.00 Overweight
2 Feb Berenberg 214.00 Hold
2 Feb Nomura N/A Reduce
28 Jan Credit Suisse N/A Outperform

AGREEMENT WITH VISA & CARTA RE VODAFONE WALLET

Final Results

Highlights

· Group revenue up 10.1% to £42.2 billion; full year organic service revenue declined 1.6%*
· Return to growth in Q4: organic service revenue up 0.1%*; Europe -2.4%*, AMAP 6.0%*
· EBITDA down 6.9%* at £11.9 billion; H2 EBITDA down 3.6%*
· EBITDA on a guidance basis £11.7 billion, in line with £11.6 - £11.9 billion guidance range
· Free cash flow £1.1 billion; capital expenditure £9.2 billion, up 45.7% year-on-year
· £5.5 billion deferred tax assets recognised and reported in H1
· Net debt of £22.3 billion, or £18.7 billion including $5.2 billion Verizon loan notes
· Final dividend per share of 7.62 pence, up 2.0%, giving total dividends per share of 11.22 pence

Steady!

Beaufort Securities Buy 226.60 - - Retains

Barclays Capital Overweight 226.60 260.00 260.00 Reiterates

Deutsche Bank Buy 226.60 250.00 250.00 Reiterates

JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight 226.60 270.00 270.00 Reiterates

Citigroup Buy 240.60 250.00 265.00 Reiterates

Pop!

Your well in now skinny. :)

Reuter's take - Vodafone hits 14-year high as M&A talk rumbles on

Vodafone, Liberty looking at merger - Bloomberg

VODAFONE ANNOUNCEMENT RE MEDIA SPECULATION

Vodafone Group Plc ("Vodafone") notes the recent media speculation regarding a potential transaction between Vodafone and Liberty Global Plc ("Liberty Global").

Vodafone confirms that it is in the early stages of discussions with Liberty Global regarding a possible exchange of selected assets between the two companies.

There is no certainty that any transaction will be agreed, nor is there certainty with respect to which assets will ultimately be involved.

Vodafone is not in discussions with Liberty Global concerning a combination of the two companies.

- ends -

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCQQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Farticles%2Flibertys-john-malone-eyes-content-consolidation-1433360774&ei=kUxxVZ7-CMz0UvezgKgO&usg=AFQjCNGzTTgx6RwwfekseVOsRQvLQ9Xx_w&bvm=bv.95039771,d.d24

Nomura Buy 235.50 239.30 235.00 290.00 Upgrades

Trading update for the quarter ended 30 June 2015

Highlights

· Q1 Group organic service revenue grew 0.8%*; Europe -1.5%*, AMAP 6.1%*

· Continued recovery in Europe: Germany -1.2%*, UK 0.2%*, Italy -2.0%*, Spain -5.5%*

· Momentum in AMAP, South Africa back to growth: India 6.9%*, Vodacom 4.5%*, Turkey 15.0%*

· Strong progress on Project Spring, mobile build 71% complete, European 4G coverage 75%

· 24.1 million 4G customers across 18 markets

· Progress in unified communications: 12.3 million fixed broadband customers, launched broadband in UK

· Second consecutive quarter of enterprise growth, service revenue +1.8%*

Vodafone announces results for the six months ended 30 September 2015 10 November 2015


Highlights


· H1 Group organic service revenue up 1.0%*; H1 Group revenue down 2.3% to £20.3 billion

· Fifth consecutive quarter of improving revenue trends: Q2 Group organic service revenue growth 1.2%*; Europe -1.0%*, AMAP 6.7%*

· Return to EBITDA growth in H1: up 1.9%* to £5.8 billion

· Free cash outflow of £0.5 billion, reflecting phasing of Project Spring capex

· Full year guidance: EBITDA now £11.7 billion to £12.0 billion; free cash flow positive

· Net debt £28.9 billion, or £25.4 billion net of $5.2 billion Verizon loan notes

· Interim dividend per share of 3.68 pence, up 2.2%

JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight 219.60 265.00 275.00 Reiterates

I'd be happy with that.
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