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.

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?

Int results 15/11
2517

197p 52 week low

Waiting.

Half-year Report

Highlights

· H1 Group organic service revenue up 2.3%*; H1 Group revenue down 3.9% to €27.1 billion

· Q2 organic service revenue growth of 2.4%*, led by improvement in Europe to 1.0%*; AMAP grew 7.1%*

· H1 Group organic EBITDA growth of 4.3%* to €7.9 billion, supported by strong cost control

· Breakeven free cash flow ('FCF'), reflecting lower capital additions and seasonal working capital outflows

· Non-cash impairment in India of €5.0 billion, net of tax, due to increased competition

· Full year guidance narrowed: EBITDA now €15.7-€16.1 billion (3-6% organic growth), FCF at least €4.0 billion

· Interim dividend per share of 4.74 eurocents, up 1.9% based on the 31 March 2016 year-end conversion rate

Liberty Global and Vodafone complete Dutch joint venture, creating a fully-converged national communications operator

· 50:50 joint venture called VodafoneZiggo Group Holding B.V. ("VodafoneZiggo" or the "JV").

· Combining Ziggo's fibre-rich broadband network with Vodafone's market-leading mobile operation creates a stronger converged competitor in the Dutch market, delivering significant benefits for consumers, businesses and the public sector through investment in digital infrastructure and customer experience.

· VodafoneZiggo has combined revenue of over €4 billion with ten million fixed and five million mobile Revenue Generating Units (RGUs)[1] and the fastest-growing B2B business in the market.

· Following the divestment of Vodafone's consumer fixed business "Vodafone Thuis", the estimated net present value of total synergies for the transaction remains around €3.5 billion.

· Following the recapitalisation of VodafoneZiggo[2] and after taking into account the €0.8 billion equalisation
payment by Vodafone, Liberty Global will receive €2.2 billion and Vodafone will receive €0.6 billion in cash payments post-closing.

Trading update for the quarter ended 31 December 2016


2 February 2017


Highlights

· Group organic service revenue grew 1.7%*; Europe 0.7%*, AMAP 3.9%*
· European growth continues as ARPU stabilises: Italy 3.0%*, Germany 1.8%*, Spain 0.8%*, and UK -3.2%*
· AMAP slowed due to competition in India: Vodacom 4.0%*, India -1.9%*, Turkey 15.0%*
· Ongoing 4G adoption drives data growth: 4G customers up 7.6 million to 64.6 million and data volumes +53%
· Strong fixed momentum led by Italy and Spain: 417,000 total broadband net adds of which 262,000 are on-net
· Enterprise outperformance continues with growth of 3.3%* driven by fixed market share gains and AMAP mobile
· Full year guidance confirmed: FCF of at least €4.0 billion, lower end of organic EBITDA growth range of 3-6%


more.....

Haitong Securities Neutral 190.13 220.00 220.00 Reiterates

Exane BNP Paribas Neutral 204.33 225.00 225.00 Reiterates

Vodafone UK, Liberty global merger talks back on
By Nick Wood, Total Telecom
Thursday 16 March 17

Report claims Voda could sell its domestic business to Virgin Media parent.

Vodafone and Liberty Global have allegedly restarted talks to merge their U.K. businesses, it emerged late on Wednesday.

Unnamed sources cited by The Register said that negotiations between senior executives at each company are being held at Vodafone's Newbury headquarters.

Vodafone and Liberty Global last held talks about potential asset swaps in 2015; however, the two sides walked away after allegedly struggling to draw up a deal structure that would appeal to shareholders.

Since then though, Vodafone and Liberty Global have successfully combined their respective Dutch operations into a joint venture. The deal was completed in late 2016.

Vodafone and Liberty Global are now said to be considering a similar deal in the U.K.; however, one arrangement also being discussed, according to The Register, could see Vodafone sell its domestic business to Liberty Global, which would then combine it with its U.K. arm, Virgin Media. As part of the deal, Liberty would sell its German operation to Vodafone.

Merging with Virgin Media would give Vodafone's U.K. fixed-line ambitions a much-needed boost. The telco re-entered the home broadband market in 2015, and by the end of last year it had attracted fewer than 200,000 subscribers. Meanwhile, its plans to launch a TV service have been put on hold.

A deal between the two would also strengthen Virgin Media's presence in the mobile market. The cableco's MVNO arm is well established, but it is also a relative newcomer to the 4G market, having only launched services last November.

Final Results

On 20 March 2017 we announced an agreement to merge Vodafone India with Idea Cellular in India. As a result, Vodafone India is now excluded from Group figures, unless stated otherwise.

Highlights

• Group total revenue down 4.4% to €47.6 billion; full year organic service revenue grew 1.9%*

• Q4 organic service revenue grew 1.5%*; Europe stable at 0.1%* (1.4%* excluding regulation), AMAP robust at 6.8%*

• Organic adjusted EBITDA up 5.8%* to €14.1 billion; H2 adjusted EBITDA up 6.3%*

• Adjusted EBITDA including India on a guidance basis up 3.4% to €15.8 billion, within 3%-6% guidance range

• Free cash flow ('FCF') €4.1 billion as capital additions declined 27.3% to a more normalised level post Project Spring of €7.7 billion; FCF €4.3 billion on a guidance basis

• Loss for the financial year of €6.1 billion includes a net of tax impairment of India of €3.7 billion

• Final dividend per share of 10.03 eurocents, up 2.0%, giving total dividends per share of 14.77 eurocents

• 2018 financial guidance: organic adjusted EBITDA growth of 4%-8% (€14.0-€14.5 billion); FCF around €5 billion

more.....

Trading update for the quarter http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5595683

Vodafone plots attack on UK market following recovery from IT meltdown

Deutsche Bank Buy 225.93 300.00 300.00 Reiterates

Vodafone India & Idea - Sale of Standalone Towers

American Tower to acquire the standalone tower businesses of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular

London, United Kingdom, Mumbai India - November 13, 2017



· Vodafone India and Idea Cellular Limited ("Idea")[1] have separately agreed to sell their respective standalone tower businesses in India to ATC Telecom Infrastructure Private Limited ("ATC TIPL", formerly Viom)[2] for an aggregate enterprise value of INR78.5 billion (US$1.2 billion)[3].

· The standalone tower businesses of Vodafone India and Idea are pan-Indian passive telecommunication infrastructure businesses, comprising a combined portfolio of approximately 20,000 towers with a combined tenancy ratio of 1.65x as at 30 June 2017.

· Idea will sell its entire stake in ICISL and Vodafone India will sell a business undertaking to ATC TIPL.

· Both Vodafone India and Idea as customers, and ATC TIPL as a mobile network infrastructure provider, have agreed to treat each other as long-term preferred partners, subject to existing arrangements. The parties will work together to further the expansion of high speed mobile networks in India.

· After Vodafone India and Idea have completed their merger, ~6,300 co-located tenancies of the two operators on the combined standalone tower businesses will collapse into single tenancies over a period of two years without the payment of exit penalties[4].

· This transaction follows the Vodafone India / Idea merger announcement of 20 March 2017 whereby the parties announced their intention to sell their individual standalone tower businesses to strengthen the balance sheet of the combined business.

· In the event that the completion of the sale of the standalone tower businesses precedes the completion of the proposed merger of Vodafone India and Idea, Vodafone India will receive INR38.5 billion (US$592 million) and Idea will receive INR40.0 billion (US$615 million)[5]. The receipt of these proceeds prior to completion was anticipated and provided for in the merger agreement and hence would not affect the agreed terms of the Vodafone India and Idea merger, including the amount of debt which Vodafone will contribute to the combined company at completion[6].

· Completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and receipt of necessary regulatory approvals, and is expected to take place during the first half of calendar year 2018.



- ends -

Half-year Report

Vodafone announces results for the six months ended 30 September 2017
14 November 2017

Highlights
· Group total revenue down 4.1% to €23.1 billion, primarily due to the deconsolidation of Vodafone Netherlands and FX movements; operating profit up 32.5% to €2.0 billion; profit for the financial period of €1.2 billion
· Organic service revenue up 1.7%*; Q2 up 1.3%* (Europe 0.8%*, AMAP 6.2%*)
· Organic adjusted EBITDA up 13.0%* to €7.4 billion (9.3%* ex roaming, UK handset financing and regulatory settlements1)
· Free cash flow (pre-spectrum) improved to €1.3 billion vs. a €0.1 billion outflow in the prior year. Free cash flow was €0.4 billion vs. a €0.4 billion outflow in the prior year
· Raising full-year guidance for organic adjusted EBITDA growth to around 10% (previously 4-8%), implying a range of €14.75-€14.95 billion at guidance FX rates; FCF pre-spectrum to exceed €5 billion (previously 'around €5 billion')
· Vodafone India service revenues down 15.8%*, adjusted EBITDA down 39.2%*; merger with Idea Cellular progressing well
· Interim dividend per share of 4.84 eurocents, up 2.1%


more.....

Goldman Sachs Conviction Buy 230.25 300.00 305.00 Reiterates

Deutsche Bank Buy 230.25 300.00 300.00 Reiterates

JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight 230.25 275.00 300.00 Reiterates

HSBC Hold 230.25 230.00 230.00

VODAFONE ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING MEDIA SPECULATION

Vodafone Group plc ("Vodafone") notes the recent press speculation regarding a potential transaction with Liberty Global plc ("Liberty Global").

Vodafone confirms that it is in early stage discussions with Liberty Global regarding the potential acquisition of certain overlapping continental European assets owned by Liberty Global.

There is no certainty that any transaction will be agreed, nor as to the terms, timing or form of any transaction.

Vodafone is not in discussion with Liberty Global regarding a combination of both companies.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU regulation 596/2014.

Twice normal volume today---Vod buy some Liberty assets----Liberty bid for ITV---that would be good.