Vodafone 1999 Annual Report Download - page 12

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International Operations
previous year. SociŽtŽ Fran•aise du RadiotŽlŽphone (SFR), in which the Vodafone Group has a 20% shareholding, held a
38% market share at the end of the year with 4,620,000 customers, an increase of 83% on the previous year.
E-Plus Mobilfunk, in which the Vodafone Group has a 17.2% interest, continued to grow rapidly and at the year end the
company had more than 2,352,000 customers connected to its network, an increase of 92% on the previous year end
figures. Following the completion of the merger with AirTouch, the Group will dispose of its interest in E-Plus as AirTouch
has a 34.8% interest in Mannesmann Mobilfunk (D2) in Germany.
In Sweden, the Vodafone Group has a 20% interest in Europolitan. The company increased its
customer base by over 40% to 667,000 by the end of the financial year in a market where over 50%
of the population owns a mobile phone. AirTouch has a 51.1% shareholding in Europolitan.
Vodafone Malta continued to make good progress in the last year, with a closing customer base of
24,000. The majority of customers are now on the GSM digital network and the company benefits
from visitors using the network in Malta.
BACK TO TOP
Pacific Rim
In spite of intense activity from two competitors, the Group’s Australian
network continued to report strong customer growth. By 31 March
1999, the customer base had increased organically by 78% to
971,000. The Australian distribution business also experienced
excellent growth, with its customer base increasing to 557,000. The
Group is considering an Initial Public Offering in the first half of 2000
but will maintain its controlling shareholding after any such offering.
Vodafone Fiji, Vodafone Group’s 49% owned associate, ended the
year with 8,000 customers and is profitable and cash generative.
On 30 October 1998, the Group completed the purchase of New
Zealand’s only GSM network. Since acquisition, and the complete rebranding to Vodafone New Zealand, the number of
customers rose by 51,000 to 181,000 at the year end. The New Zealand network complements the Group’s other
operations in the Pacific Rim area as they all use GSM technology.
BACK TO TOP
Middle East and Africa
Vodacom, in which the Group has a 31.5% shareholding, is one of two
GSM operators in the Republic of South Africa. The company had
another strong trading year and continued to lead the market. The pre-
paid services continued to be popular and customers opting for this
type of product accounted for 55% of the 2,000,000 customer base,
which grew by over 104% in the last financial year.
Celtel, in which the Group has a 36.8%
shareholding, is one of two GSM network
http://www.vodafone.com/download/investor/reports/annual99/international_operations.htm (2 of 3)30/03/2007 00:07:43