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 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.
2517

Final Results

Highlights

· Group organic total revenue grew 2.3%* to £41.0 billion; full year organic service revenue grew 1.5%*
· Q4 organic service revenue grew 2.5%*; stabilisation in Europe +0.5%*, AMAP accelerated to +8.1%*
· Q4 driven by underlying improvement, up 1.8%* excluding adjustments primarily from a leap-year effect
· Organic EBITDA growth of 2.7%* to £11.6 billion; H2 EBITDA up 3.6%*
· EBITDA on a guidance basis £11.9 billion, upper end of £11.7 - £12.0 billion guidance range
· Free cash flow £1.0 billion, consistent with 'positive' guidance; capital expenditure £8.6 billion, down 6.5%
· Net debt of £29.2 billion, up 31.0% impacted by spectrum acquisitions and foreign exchange movements
· Final dividend per share of 7.77 pence, up 2.0%, giving total dividends per share of 11.45 pence

HSBC Buy 230.05 260.00 260.00 Reiterates

Barclays Capital Overweight 230.05 260.00 260.00 Reiterates

RBC Capital Markets Outperform 230.05 260.00 270.00 Retains

JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight 230.05 275.00 280.00 Reiterates

Deutsche Bank Buy 230.05 295.00 295.00 Reiterates

Sky and Vodafone New Zealand Merger

Jefferies International Buy 220.13 265.00 265.00 Reiterates

Barclays Capital Overweight 228.00 255.00 265.00 Reiterates

Trading update for the quarter ended 30 June 2016

Highlights
· Q1 Group organic service revenue grew 2.2%*; Europe 0.3%*, AMAP 7.7%*
· Europe remains stable despite lower roaming fees: Germany 1.6%*, Spain 1.3%*, Italy 1.2%*, UK -3.2%*
· Sustained growth in AMAP: India 6.4%*, Vodacom 4.4%*, Turkey 19.5%*, Egypt 9.4%*
· 4G adoption drives ongoing data growth: 4G customers doubled to 52.5m and data volumes +63%
· Strong fixed momentum continues with 348,000 broadband net adds, up 32%, of which 217,000 are on-net
· Enterprise growth of 2.6%* as VGE and fixed share gains continue to offset pressure in mobile

Haitong Securities Neutral 235.23 210.00 210.00 Reiterates

Most of the analysts seem to believe this stock has further to climb:

25 Jul Barclays... 265.00 Overweight
25 Jul Deutsche Bank 310.00 Buy
22 Jul Haitong... 210.00 Neutral
20 Jul Deutsche Bank 310.00 Buy
19 Jul Morgan Stanley 280.00 Overweight
13 Jul Barclays... 265.00 Overweight
12 Jul Citigroup 245.00 Neutral
6 Jul Barclays... N/A Overweight
30 Jun JP Morgan... 300.00 Overweight
24 Jun Deutsche Bank 300.00 Buy

I FEEL FREE, NO LINE RENTAL.

What has happened about the INT. Divi?