25 Quotable facts

Market statistics and background information

- The largest mobile network operator by subscriber
numbers is China Mobile with an estimated 415
million subscribers (as of June 2008). Second is
Vodafone with 280 million (as of September
2008).
- Vodafone had a market capitalisation at 31
December 2008 of £73 billion (approx €77 billion)
- In the year ended 31 March 2008, Vodafone
reported group revenue of £35.5 billion with an
operating margin of 28.3%. Actual EPS was
12.56p
- In a recent report prepared by Pyramid Research
forecasting mobile subscribers and revenues
2008 -2013, they state that worldwide mobile
subscriptions are predicted to grow from 4.0
billion in 2008 to 5.85 billion in 2013, a compound
average growth of nearly 8%. About 90% of the
new subscriptions will come from emerging
markets
- By 2013, it is expected that global mobile
subscription penetration will top 83%, compared
with an estimated 60% penetration rate at the
end of 2008
- The global market for mobile voice and data
communications services was worth
approximately US$908 billion in 2008. In is
expected that this revenue will grow at a
compound annual growth rate of 6.0% over the
next five years to reach $1.2 trillion by 2013
- Telecoms networks and devices currently account
for nearly 1% of global greenhouse-gas
emissions and this is predicted to more than
double by 2020 as adoption increases
- Construction of base stations will form
approximately 70-80% of the capital cost of the
mobile network.
Key performance indicators
- The level of ARPU earned by Vodafone in Europe
go from approximately €17 per month (or €204
per year) in Germany to €42 per month (€504 per
year) in Ireland.
- In a report published by Analysys Mason entitled
“The Western European Mobile Market: trends
and forecasts 2007 – 2012” still predicts that
average ARPU will rise from €30.3 per month in
2006 to €33.4 per month in 2012 as a result of
the increased spend on non-voice data activity
- In the year ended 31 March 2008, Vodafone
supplied 433,636 million voice minutes to its 260
million customers, an average of nearly 1,670
minutes per year for each customer 139 minutes
a month. China Mobile reported 493 average
minutes of usage per user per month for the
period 1 January 2008 to 30 September 2008
- In the UK, Vodafone experience churn rates of
approximately 35% per year. This compares to
Germany or Spain where the rate is nearer 25%.
- At 31 March 2008, Vodafone has just over 31
million 3G devices in circulation, equating to
nearly 12% of their subscriber base. By 30
September 2008, this has increased to 37.5
million or 13.4% of subscribers.
- In their interim report for the 6 months ended 30
June 2008, China Mobile reported a net increase
in new subscribers of over 7.5 million per month,
taking total subscribers to 415 million
- Vodafone, in their interim report for the 6 months
ended 30 September 2008, report net additions
of around 3 million per month
Regulation and licences
- In April 2000, the UK Government netted £22.47
billion (the equivalent of €644 per head of
population) from the sale of 5, 3G mobile phone
licences.
- On 7 January 2009, the Chinese Government
awarded 3 separate 3G licences to the three
majority owned mobile network operators
- 2.5 billion text messages are sent every year by
roaming customers in EU countries
- The average cost of sending a text whilst roaming in
Europe will reduce from 24p to just 9p under
proposals currently being passed through the
European Parliament
Mergers and Acquisitions
- In 2006, Telefonica completed its £17.7 billion
acquisition of the UK-based operator O2.
- Telenor’s strategy includes the managed exit from
operations where they cannot obtain control over
time
- On 30 May 2006 when Vodafone announced the
biggest loss in British corporate history (£14.9
billion); it reported one-off costs of £23.5 billion
due to the revaluation of its Mannesmann
subsidiary
- In July 2008, Vodafone agreed to buy a 70% stake
in Ghana Telecom from the Ghana Government
for US$900 million
Strategy
- O2 added three and a half times as many new
mobile customers in the third quarter of 2008 as
it did in the same quarter in 2007, following the
launch of the i-phone over which is had exclusive
rights.
- Vodafone experiences a capital intensity (capital
spend : revenue) of approximately 10% in
Europe whilst for China Mobile, this same figure
is 33%.