Vodafone Group Plc (VOD) Q1 2026 Earnings Call

Investor webinar replay

Replay transcript excerpt

We performed well across the group in the first quarter, in line with our expectations, with good service revenue growth of 5.5%. Most importantly, we are starting to deliver the planned service revenue improvements in Germany and we have completed our merger in the UK at the start of June, launching Vodafone 3, the country's leading mobile operator. I will come back to both Germany and the UK shortly. Our other European markets growth has slowed due to competitive pressure in Portugal, but we see good performance continuing across the region. Our emerging market portfolio has delivered strong growth in Euro terms. Turkey continues to perform very well and in Africa we have further accelerated our growth across the footprint. So overall, good revenue growth, which delivered good EBITDA growth for the quarter of 4.9%. This is in line with our expectations and today we are reiterating our growth guidance for both EBITDA and cash flow. Combined with our significant buyback program, this guidance delivers strong double digit free cash flow growth per share for our shareholders. Coming back to Germany, the market has remained very competitive in mobile, but we are seeing tangible results from the actions we have taken. Whilst headline net customer additions are negative, we continue to see improvement on our most valuable customer base. In consumer, our branded contract churn is now single digit, the lowest it's been for the last four years, thanks to the ongoing improvement of our customer experience. In fixed, we continue to score well in independent network tests, retaining our leadership position as the best network in the country. As the market penetration has now plateaued, our focus is on driving value and we have taken proactive actions to increase ARPU for new ac...