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Vodafone Group Plc H1 FY27 Q&A Transcript
Goldman Sachs
BNP Paribas Exane
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
New Street Research
Deutsche Numis
Morgan Stanley
JP Morgan
Citigroup
UBS
Hi, thanks for taking the question. I just have one question in terms of OXG. So you have a new partner for the Fibre JV with SocGen replacing Altice in Germany. However, this means that Vodafone will now have to fund equity injections of up to €1.2 billion euros. Can you clarify how these equity injections will be accounted for, and will it impact Adjusted free cash flow? I think the situation is a little bit different, but let me tell you where we stand. So first of all, we have been pleased to welcome a new partner in OXG. SocGen knew OXG well because they were involved from the very start and their presence essentially gives us an enhanced funding position together with full strategic flexibility as we look into the future. The governance of the JV is unchanged. The objectives of the JV are unchanged. Now, SocGen comes in with different terms from Altice and this is because we are at a different stage of the rollout. They are a financial investor, not a strategic investor, but perhaps the most important point is we should face it. The conditions in the fibre market in Germany today are very different from where they were four years ago now. So that's where we are. In terms of funding and equity contribution, the funding of the JV will be a mix of debt and equity and in exactly what proportion, I think that also evolves over time depending on the rollout, again, overall conditions and the strategy that the JV will want to adopt. But from a Vodafone perspective, keep in mind that any equity that will come out from the mix of debt and equity will be very much phased over the duration of the build. And I think you have seen this very clearly in the last two to three years, we've built 1.1 million households and equity contributions from both partners have been very much phased. So they will continue to be phased and we will see the impact as we go along.
Polo Tang UBS
Margherita Della Valle Vodafone Group
Thanks.
Polo Tang UBS
Yes, good morning, everybody. Thank you for taking my question. My question is on Africa, please. So you have been consolidating the extra 15% equity stake in Safaricom since the 1st of July. Obviously, the acquisition takes you to a majority, gives you consolidation of Kenya, Ethiopia and the tech business. However, I think most of us know that in September, Kenya's high court declared the 15% stake sale void. Might be a question maybe more for Vodacom, but I'd be keen to get your opinion on this. Can you give us an update on where we stand today and how this situation might evolve going forward? What's your expectation there? Thank you very much. Thank you, Emmet. Absolutely. I mean, consistently with our strategy, it was a very natural step for us to add this 15% stake into Safaricom that we have been working with for a very long time. As you know, leading telcos, strong positions and strong growth opportunities also between connectivity and financial services. We had local legal challenges in the Kenyan court, as you say.
Emmet Kelly Morgan Stanley
Margherita Della Valle Vodafone Group
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