Vodafone holds talks in Italy as it looks for growth
Vodafone said on Monday it is in “active discussions ” about a deal in Italy, its worst-performing major market, as it reported a third-quarter growth slowdown in Germany.
The British group rejected a merger offer from rival Iliad in Italy last month in favour of pursuing other options.
Sources have said that Vodafone, which last year agreed to merge with Hutchison’s Three in Britain and sell its Spanish operation, is exploring a deal with Swisscom’s Italian unit Fastweb.
CEO Margherita Della Valle said the group is “engaged in live discussions” in Italy. “Our focus remains on delivering the best value creation for Vodafone, as we have done so far in driving consolidation.”
Vodafone reported thirdquarter service revenue growth of 4.7%, the same as the previous quarter, as a smaller decline in Spain helped offset the weaker contribution from Germany, where growth slowed from 1.1% to 0.3%.
Della Valle said the German slowdown reflects one-off benefits in the previous quarter.
“The underlying commercial performance is accelerating,” she said. “Broadband churn is now behind us, and we have great offers in the market supported by superior fixed and mobile networks.”
Italy was the toughest market, with service revenue declining 1.3% in the third quarter.
Shares in Vodafone, which have fallen 25% in the past 12 months, were trading down 1.2% in early deals.
Analysts at Citi said the update is broadly in line with expectations, “though the slowdown in Germany may be a concern”.
Last month Vodafone said it was in talks with more than one party in Italy, with one source familiar with the matter saying talks with Swisscom were more advanced than others. Swisscom declined to comment at the time.
Vodafone reiterated its fullyear guidance for broadly flat adjusted core earnings of about €13.3bn and free cash flow of about €3.3bn.
Analysts, however, are sceptical. They expect on average earnings of €13.07bn and cash flow of €3.13bn, according to a company-complied consensus.