Vodafone 2024 Annual Report

Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2024

Welcome to our 2024 Annual Report We continue to use a simplified digital-first approach to our reporting, reflecting how we operate as a business. We provide summaries at the start of each key section, denoted by an S . New shape of the Group Following the announced sale of Vodafone Spain and Vodafone Italy as part of right-sizing our portfolio for growth, both businesses are now treated as discontinued operations, and therefore excluded from Group results for continuing operations. Prior periods have also been re-stated to reflect the new shape of the Group. Environmental, Social and Governance (‘ESG’) reporting This year we have incorporated both our full cyber security and climate-related risk reporting into the Annual Report. We also report against a number of voluntary reporting frameworks to help our stakeholders understand our sustainable business performance. Disclosures prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (‘GRI’) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (‘SASB’) guidance can be found in our ESG Addendum and on our website. Our website also includes a wide range of reports which can be found on the links below. Corporate website vodafone.com Investor Relations website investors.vodafone.com

Contents Strategic report

1 S FY24 highlights 2 S About Vodafone 3 S Operating in a rapidly changing industry 4 S Business model 6 S Key performance indicators 8 Chair’s message 9 Chief Executive’s statement and strategic roadmap 10 Mega trends 12 Stakeholder engagement 15 Our people strategy 21 Our financial performance 32 S Purpose, sustainability and responsible business 34 Our purpose 35 – Empowering People 38 – Protecting the Planet 43 Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals 44 Maintaining Trust 45 – Protecting data

ESG Addendum investors.vodafone.com/esgaddendum

ESG Addendum Methodology document investors.vodafone.com/esgmethodology Cyber security factsheet investors.vodafone.com/cyber ESG ratings investors.vodafone.com/esg-ratings

SASB disclosure investors.vodafone.com/sasb A-Z of ESG disclosures investors.vodafone.com/esga-z

51 – Protecting people 53 – Business integrity 55 Non-financial information 57 Risk management 63 – Long-term viability statement 64 – Climate-related risk Governance 70 S Governance at a glance 72 Chair’s governance statement

References Our Annual Report has been designed for easy navigation. We have cross-referenced relevant material and included the below navigation icons. Online content can be accessed by clicking links on the digital version, copying the website address into an internet browser, or scanning the QR code on a mobile device. Read more page reference Click to see related content online Click or scan to watch related video content online

74 Our governance structure 75 Division of responsibilities 76 Our Board 79 Our Executive Committee

Watch our video content Our performance

80 Our Company purpose, values and culture 81 Board activities and principal decisions 84 Board effectiveness 86 Nominations and Governance Committee 89 Audit and Risk Committee 95 Technology Committee 96 ESG Committee 98 Remuneration Committee 100 Remuneration Policy 106 Annual Report on Remuneration 119 US listing requirements 120 Directors’ report Financials 122 Reporting on our financial performance 123 Directors’ statement of responsibility 125 Auditor’s report 135 Consolidated financial statements and notes 227 Company financial statements and notes Other information 235 Non-GAAP measures

Our digital investor briefings

FY24 update: Margherita Della Valle, Chief Executive, Luka Mucic, Chief Financial Officer

Vodafone Business

Digital services & experiences

Vodafone Technology

Social contract

Purpose pillars

Responsible business

Digital inclusion Net zero

Data privacy

Cyber security

Human rights

Responsible taxation

Our governance

Jean-François van Boxmeer, Chair

David Nish, Senior Independent Director

Amparo Moraleda, Chair of the ESG Committee

Simon Segars, Chair of the Technology Committee

Luka Mucic, Chief Financial Officer

249 Shareholder information 255 History and development 255 Regulation 261 Form 20-F cross reference guide 264 Forward-looking statements 265 Definition of terms

Deborah Kerr, Non-Executive Director

Stephen Carter, Non-Executive Director

Delphine Ernotte Cunci, Non-Executive Director

Christine Ramon, Non-Executive Director

Hatem Dowidar, Non-Executive Director

This document is the Group’s UK Annual Report and is not the Group’s Annual Report on Form 20-F that will be filed separately with the US SEC at a later date. This report contains references to Vodafone’s website, and other supporting disclosures located thereon such as videos, our ESG Addendum and Methodology document, and our cyber security factsheet, amongst others. These references are for readers’ convenience only and information included on Vodafone’s website is not incorporated in, and does not form part of, this Annual Report.

Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2024

Strategic report

Governance

Financials

Other information

FY24 highlights

Progress against our strategic priorities We have made good initial progress against our strategic priorities, which are focused on Customers, Simplicity and Growth. We have right-sized our European portfolio for growth. During the year we announced: – UK: merger of Vodafone UK and Three UK €8bn – Italy: sale of Vodafone Italy to Swisscom €5bn – Spain: sale of Vodafone Spain to Zegona We are now focused on growing telecommunications markets, where we have strong assets and good scale. Progress against our strategic priorities:

FY24 results

Our financial performance was slightly ahead of expectations for the year.

Organic service revenue growth 1

7.1%

6.6%

6.3%

5.4%

4.2% 3.6% 4.0%

3.4% 1.6%

3.0%

Q4 FY24 Q3 FY24 Q2 FY24 Q1 FY24 Q4 FY23

Group – All segments growing in FY24 – Group growth accelerated in Q4 – Vodafone Business +5.4% growth in Q4

Group excluding Turkey

Customers

Revenue market share

Consumer NPS

Detractors

Adjusted EBITDAaL

Germany UK

+2.2% 2

€14.7bn

€12.4bn €11.0bn

Other Europe South Africa

(2.3)

33.0%

30.0%

Key: Improved Deteriorated

Stable

FY23 EBTDAaL (re-presented)

FY23 EBTDAaL (reported)

Italy & Spain

FY24 EBTDAaL (reported)

Network quality Very good reliability in all European markets. German cable network quality recognised in 4 independent tests

– On a like-for-like basis +2.2% growth in FY24 – EBITDAaL margin impacted by higher energy costs

Simplicity

Europe opex savings 1 €0.4bn (FY23 and FY24) Shared operations NPS +85%

Productivity 1 c.5k role reductions

8.2% 6.8% Return on capital employed (‘ROCE’) 3 1.4pp

7.5%

Employee engagement +75%

FY23 (reported)

Italy & Spain

FY23 (re-presented)

FY24 (reported)

Growth 2

Pre-tax ROCE

Organic service revenue growth +6.3% Organic adjusted EBITDAal growth +2.2%

Adjusted free cash flow €2.6bn B2B organic service revenue growth +5.0%

– Higher pre-tax ROCE under the new footprint – Lower operating profit impacting year-over-year

Full year dividend: 9.0 eurocents per share

Notes: 1. Organic growth. See page 235 for more information. 2. Organic Adjusted EBITDAaL growth. 3. This is a non-GAAP measure. See page 235 for more information..

Pre-tax return on capital employed +7.5%

Click or scan to watch our Group Chief Executive, Margherita Della Valle and Chief Financial Officer provide an update on our FY24 results: investors.vodafone.com/videos

Read more about our financial performance in FY24 on pages 21 to 31

Notes: 1. Includes Vodafone Italy and Vodafone Spain. 2. These are non-GAAP measures. See page 235 for more information.

Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2024

Strategic report

Governance

Financials

Other information

About Vodafone

We are a leading European and African telecommunications company transforming the way our customers live and work through our technology, platforms, products and services.

Where we operate We operate mobile and fixed networks in 15 countries and have stakes in a further seven countries through our joint ventures and associates. We also partner with mobile networks in 43 countries outside our footprint. Our portfolio of local markets is supported by corporate services and shared operations, which deliver benefits through scale and standardisation.

How we are structured and what we sell Our business comprises of infrastructure assets, shared operations, growth platforms and retail and service operations. Our retail and service operations are split across three broad business lines: Vodafone Business, Europe Consumer and Africa Consumer. Core connectivity products and services in fixed and mobile account for the majority of our revenue. However, our portfolio also includes high return growth areas that leverage and complement our core connectivity business, such as digital services, the Internet of Things (‘IoT’) and financial services. We market and sell through digital and physical channels.

Europe 1

Africa

9 countries

6 countries

98m mobile customers 17m fixed customers 4m converged customers

157m mobile customers 46m FinTech users

We serve private and public sector customers of all sizes with a broad range of connectivity services, supported by our dedicated global network. We have unique scale and capabilities, and are expanding our portfolio of products and services into growth areas such as unified communications, cloud & security, and IoT.

Vodafone Business €8bn service revenue

We provide a range of market leading mobile and fixed line connectivity services in our European markets. Our converged plans combine these offerings, providing simplicity and better value for our customers. Other value added services include our Consumer IoT propositions, as well as security and insurance products.

We provide a range of mobile services. The demand for mobile data is growing rapidly driven by the lack of fixed broadband access and by increased smartphone penetration. Together with Vodacom’s VodaPay super-app and the M-Pesa payment platform, we are the leading provider of financial services, as well as business and merchant services in Africa.

Africa Consumer €5bn service revenue

Europe Consumer 1 €16bn service revenue

Note: 1. Includes Turkey.

Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2024

Strategic report

Governance

Financials

Other information

Operating in a rapidly changing industry Our governance

The long-term trends that are shaping our industry and driving new growth opportunities. Mega trends

Our business is underpinned by our strong governance and risk management framework.

Connected devices

Governance The Board held seven scheduled meetings this year to discuss key strategic matters, our purpose and culture, our people and stakeholder interests. The Nominations and Governance Committee evaluates the composition and performance of the Board and ensures an appropriate balance of independence, skills, knowledge, experience and diversity. The Audit and Risk Committee provides effective governance over the appropriateness of financial reporting of the Group, including the adequacy of related disclosures, the performance of the internal audit function and the external auditor and oversight of the Group’s systems of internal control, risk management framework and compliance activities. The Technology Committee supports the Board with fulfilling the technology strategy for the Group, including assessing risks and exploring new innovations for future growth. The ESG Committee oversees our Environmental, Social and Governance (‘ESG’) programme, including our purpose, sustainability and responsible business practices, and our contribution to the societies we operate in under our social contract. The Remuneration Committee advises the Board on policies for executive remuneration and reward packages for the Chair, executives and senior management team.

– A wide range of new devices, across all sectors and applications, are increasingly being connected to the internet. – The Internet of Things (‘IoT’) is expected to create huge value for businesses and society, unlocking new efficiencies by delivering real-time information. – As the number of IoT devices increases, physical assets are also communicating with each other in real-time and new digital markets are being established giving birth to the ‘Economy of Things’. – Businesses demand reliable and secure mobile connectivity as transactions migrate to online channels and apps. – In Africa, increasing smartphone penetration drives the adoption of digital payments. – Network operators and a range of FinTech startups are using mobile payment applications to sell additional financial services focused products such as insurance and loans. – The cloud is increasingly utilised by businesses and consumers as a more efficient way of sharing compute capacity and services. – SMEs increasingly understand the benefits of cloud technology but lack the technical expertise or direct relationships with cloud specialists to make an effective transition to the cloud. – This presents an opportunity for network operators to play a role as a partner to support smaller businesses on their digital transformation journeys. – The full range of potential applications and long-term impacts of Gen AI are only starting to be understood. – The technology is widely expected to drive significant economic benefit globally through productivity increases and new business opportunities. – Potential applications include AI-generated content for marketing campaigns, customer care and back-office activities.

Click or scan to watch our Vodafone Business investor briefing: investors.vodafone.com/ vtbriefing

Digital payments

Click or scan to watch our Digital Services investor briefing: investors.vodafone.com/ digital-services

Read more on pages 9 to 11

Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2024

Strategic report

Governance

Financials

Other information

Our progress Key Performance Indicators Financial and non-financial performance We measure our success by tracking key performance indicators that reflect our strategic, operational and financial progress and performance.

Financial results summary 1

2024

2023

2022

Group revenue Group service revenue Operating profit Adjusted EBITDAaL 2

€m 36,717 €m 29,912 €m 11,019

37,672 37,010 30,318 30,207 12,424 12,693

€m €m €c €c €m

3,665 1,570 4.45 7.47 2,600

14,451 12,582 43.66 11.28 4,139

5,740 2,588 7.07 10.18 4,560

Profit for the financial year (continuing operations) Basic earnings per share (continuing operations) Adjusted basic earnings per share 2 Cash inflow from operating activities

€m 16,557

18,054 18,081

Adjusted free cash flow 2 Total dividends per share Net debt 2

€m (33,242) (33,250) (39,711)

€c

9.00

Performance against our strategic priorities 1

2024

Simplicity Europe opex savings 3 (FY23 and FY24) Employee engagement index 4,5 Shared operations NPS 4 Productivity (role reductions) 3

Customers Consumer NPS Germany UK Other Europe South Africa

€bn

0.4 75 85 c.5

% %

thousand

Detractors Germany UK

Other Europe South Africa Revenue market share Germany UK

2024

Growth 2 Organic service revenue growth B2B organic service revenue growth Organic adjusted EBITDAaL growth Adjusted free cash flow Pre-tax return on capital employed

% % % %

6.3 5.0 2.2 2.6 7.5

Other Europe South Africa Key: Improved Deteriorated

€bn

Stable

Network quality Very good reliability in all European markets. German cable network quality recognised in 4 independent tests.

Notes: 1. The results for the year ended 31 March 2024 exclude Vodafone Spain and Vodafone Italy and therefore, except as otherwise described, the results for the year ended 31 March 2023 and 31 March 2022 have been re-presented to reflect that. 2. These are non-GAAP measures. See page 235 for more information. 3. Includes Vodafone Italy and Vodafone Spain.

4. As at May 2024. 5. The employee engagement index is based on an average index of responses to three questions: satisfaction working at Vodafone; experiencing positive emotions at work; and recommending us as an employer.

Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2024

Strategic report

Governance

Financials

Other information

A purpose-led, sustainable and responsible business We want to enable a digital, inclusive and sustainable society. To underpin the delivery of our purpose, we ensure that we operate in a responsible way. Acting lawfully and with integrity is critical to our long-term success.

Empowering People 1,2 4G population coverage (outdoor 1Mbps) – Europe 2 4G population coverage (outdoor 1Mbps) – Africa 3 4G population coverage (outdoor 1Mbps) – Group 2 Cumulative V-Hub unique visitors 4 Customers connected to our financial inclusion services 6

2024 99 74 85 3.3 66.2

2023 99 70 83 2.3 60.7

2022 99 66 80 3.6 5 54.5

% % %

million million

Protecting our Planet 1,2

2024

2023

2022

Energy use Total energy use

GWh

5,217

5,052

4,926

Mobile and fixed access network and technology centres energy use Percentage of purchased electricity from renewable sources Percentage of purchased electricity from renewable sources in Europe Greenhouse gas emissions (‘GHGs’) Total Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions (market-based method) Total customer emissions avoided due to our green digital solutions 7 Waste Total network waste (including hazardous waste) Total Scope 3 GHG emissions Our people Average number of employees and contractors Employee turnover rate (voluntary) Women in management and senior leadership roles Women on the Board Women as a percentage of employees Health & safety Number of lost-time incidents – employees and contractors Lost-time incident rate per 200,000 hours 8 Code of Conduct Completed ‘Doing What’s Right’ employee training 5 Network waste reused or recycled Maintaining Trust 1

% % %

93 84 100 0.69 6.07 32.8

93 75 100 0.91 6.92 24.9

93 69 93

m tonnes CO 2 e m tonnes CO 2 e m tonnes CO 2 e metric tonnes

1.02 6.91 13.5

6,205

7,716

6,367

2024

2023

2022

thousand

93 42 35 9 39 18

91 12 54 33 39 13

90 14 50 31 39

% % % %

# #

0.02 94 649

0.01 92 505

0.01 89 642

% #

Number of ‘Speak Up’ reports 5 Tax and economic contribution Total tax and economic contributions 9 Responsible supply chain Total spend 10 Number of direct suppliers 10,11

€bn €bn

9.3 21 83 9

8.2 20 71 9

thousand

Number of site assessments conducted collectively by JAC 12 initiative members

150

Notes: 1. Information relating to 2023 and 2022 has been restated to reflect portfolio changes completed during FY23 and FY24. 2. Operations in Italy and Spain have been classified as discontinued operations in line with ‘IFRS 5 - Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations’. All remaining operations are reported as continuing operations. This disaggregation of information has been reflected in all comparative periods. 3. Based on coverage in Africa, including Egypt. 4. Includes 100% of data relating to Vodafone Ziggo.

8. Total Recordable Incident Rate (‘TRIR’) is an industry-standard calculation that is based on the assumption that 100 employees work a combined 200,000 hours p.a (equivalent to 40 hours per week, for 50 weeks of the year per employee). 9. Includes direct taxes, non-taxation based revenue mechanisms, such as payments for the right to use spectrum, and indirect taxes collected on behalf of governments around the world, excludes joint ventures and associates. The FY24 figure will be finalised during FY25. For more information, refer to our Tax and Economic Contribution reports, available at: vodafone.com/tax. 10. Unique suppliers based on suppliers’ ultimate parent company. 11. Excludes Vodafone Automotive. 12. Joint Alliance for CSR.

5. Includes Vodafone Italy and Vodafone Spain. 6. Includes 100% of data relating to Safaricom.

7. The avoided emissions for 2022 have been restated to 13.5 million tonnes CO 2 e (previously 15.6 million tonnes CO 2 e) resulting from the incorrect calculation of emissions avoided in fleet management solutions.

Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2024

Strategic report

Governance

Financials

Other information

Reshaping Vodafone for growth Chair’s message

This has been a year of significant change as we aim to deliver our purpose to connect for a better future. We have taken all the steps needed to transform our portfolio and good progress has been made with our strategic priorities of Customers, Simplicity and Growth. Portfolio transformed, good initial strategic progress As I said last year, the Company has underperformed and further change is needed to drive sustainable value creation for our shareholders. The Board and I have been pleased with Margherita’s pace and decisiveness over the last year and we have seen the first impacts of our focus on our new strategic priorities of Customers, Simplicity and Growth. Whilst there is much more to do, we are making faster and more decisive commercial decisions, customer satisfaction has seen broad-based improvements, and we have moved towards a commercial model for our shared operations. Vodafone Business growth is accelerating as we are strengthening our position as the leading platform for businesses, supported by unique strategic partnerships. We are also forging partnerships that leverage our existing strengths, unlock value and accelerate growth. The shape of the Group has also changed as we focus on markets where we can grow and earn returns on our investments in excess of our cost of capital; this was not possible organically in UK, Spain or Italy. With our reshaped footprint, Vodafone will have strong positions with good local scale in each of our markets, and this will ensure we can deliver sustainable and predictable growth and a step-up in returns. Board composition Following an extensive and rigorous search, I was delighted to welcome Luka Mucic as Chief Financial Officer and an Executive Director of the Board in September 2023. Luka brings substantial experience in finance, international leadership and enterprise & technology solutions. Luka has been very supportive of the transformation of Vodafone and I am confident that his track record and expertise will aid the delivery of our strategic priorities. We have also welcomed Hatem Dowidar, Group Chief Executive Officer of e&, to our Board as a Non-Executive Director from 19 February 2024. Hatem represents our largest shareholder and brings extensive telecommunications experience. He also knows us well after holding various Vodafone leadership positions prior to joining e&. Hatem’s appointment to the Board marks the next phase of our strategic relationship with e&. Last year, the Board approved the creation of a Technology Committee as a Committee of the Board. I have been pleased to see the Committee and its expert membership bring additional insight to the Board and Vodafone, in its first year overseeing the Group’s technology strategy and considering how it supports the overall Company strategy today, and in the future. FY24 financial performance & new capital allocation framework Our financial results for FY24 were ahead of expectations and we achieved our financial guidance for the year. Total revenue declined 2.5% to €36.7 billion, with Group organic service revenue growing by 6.3% 1 this year. This was driven by growth in Europe, Africa and Business. Our reported financials were also impacted by adverse currency movements during the year. Adjusted EBITDAaL increased by 2.2% 1 on an organic basis as good service revenue progress was partially offset by higher energy costs and inflationary impacts. Adjusted free cash flow was €2.6 billion 1 , reflecting lower adjusted EBITDAaL. Group return on capital employed

increased as a result of the right-sizing of our portfolio, however decreased year-on-year to 7.5% on a pre-tax basis due to lower operating profit 1 . Group operating profit decreased by 74.6% to €3.7 billion, primarily reflecting business disposals in the prior financial year and adverse foreign exchange rate movements, and as a result basic earnings per share decreased to 7.47 eurocents. Our balance sheet position remains robust, with Group leverage now at 2.5x 2 .The Board has declared a total dividend per share of 9.0 eurocents with respect to FY24, implying a final dividend per share of 4.5 eurocents, which will be paid on 2 August 2024 following shareholder approval at our AGM. In March 2024, we announced a new capital allocation framework as the execution of our portfolio right-sizing has provided the necessary clarity over the future shape of the Group. Under our new capital allocation framework, we will continue our disciplined investment approach, supporting our network, strategy and growth levers; adopt a new lower target leverage range with built-in flexibility; re-base the FY25 dividend to 4.5 eurocents per share to reflect the reshaped Group, with an ambition to grow over time; and return surplus capital to shareholders through share buybacks. Connectivity drives competitiveness As the economies and societies in Vodafone’s markets continue to evolve, our role in providing digital connectivity and solutions grows in importance, not only for our customers but for policymakers too. Our digital services help to improve lives, transform industrial productivity, drive growth and secure infrastructure. We remain firmly committed to supporting Europe’s and Africa’s digital ambitions for the benefit of their citizens and businesses. In Africa, connectivity that enables our customers to access the internet and make mobile money transfers is fundamental to the economic development of the six countries in which we operate. As more customers wish to move to more advanced technologies, Vodafone is working with international partners and multilateral institutions to tackle the challenge of smartphone affordability. In Europe, a ‘connectivity chasm’ is opening with regions like North America and Asia. There is a risk that in the future Europeans will have inferior access to the latest digital innovations simply because of outdated public policies. As a result, Europe will lack the advanced connectivity that is essential to its global competitiveness. Though European policymakers have made some progress, the telecommunications market in Europe remains highly fragmented and more needs to be done to create the right environment for investing in next-generation connectivity. With structurally low returns on capital in European markets and its wider importance to competitiveness, connectivity must be a priority for European politicians as they seek to reverse the continent’s declining productivity and share of global output. This is an important year for Europe. European Parliament elections and a new European Commission give political leaders the rare chance to change course and return the continent to its position as a global economic leader. They must take it. The year ahead On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank all our colleagues across the Group who have continued to work tirelessly to support our transformation as we focus on our customers, become a simpler business, and accelerate growth. As we enter FY25, I am confident that Margherita and her management team will continue to make progress on our strategic priorities. The ‘reshaped Vodafone’ will be a best-in-class telco in Europe & Africa and the leading platform for businesses, ultimately delivering value for all our stakeholders. Jean-François van Boxmeer Chair

Notes: 1. This is a non-GAAP measure. See page 235 for more information. 2. Proforma ratio after adjusting for foreign exchange and M&A.

Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2024

Strategic report

Governance

Financials

Other information

Chief Executive’s statement and strategic roadmap Transformation gaining momentum

Early strategic execution We have made good initial progress against our strategic priorities.

“A year ago, I set out my plans to transform Vodafone, including the need to right-size Europe for growth. Since then, we have announced a series of transactions and we are now delivering growth in all of our markets across Europe and Africa. Much more still needs to be done in the year ahead. We will step-up investment in our customer experience, improve our underlying performance in Germany and accelerate our momentum in Business, whilst also continuing to simplify our operations throughout the group. We are fundamentally transforming Vodafone for growth.” Margherita Della Valle Group Chief Executive In May 2023, we set out a new roadmap to transform Vodafone along three strategic priorities: Customers, Simplicity, and Growth. We measure our operational progress in these areas through a consistent scorecard summarised below. During FY24, we have reshaped our European footprint to focus on growing markets, with strong positions and good local scale. Alongside the progress to right-size our portfolio for growth, we have made good early progress with our operational transformation, which aims to improve the experience provided to our customers, remove complexity from our operations and accelerate growth in revenue, profit, cash flow and return on capital. Customers – Wide-reaching customer experience transformation underway, supported by additional investment of €140 million 1 in FY24, as well as new incentives and talent development plans. – Customers insights processed through real-time AI models, feeding into detailed action plans on a weekly basis in all markets. – Frontline tools and processes enhancements benefitting 70,000 team members. – Significant improvement in Germany fixed network reliability, recognised in four independent network quality tests. – Despite material price inflation, customer detractors have reduced across all segments, and we now have leading or co-leading net promotor scores in 5 out of 9 European markets 1 . Simplicity – New organisational structure and executive management team in place. – Completed first phase of commercialising shared operations, enabling greater transparency, productivity and flexibility. – Actioned 5,000 1 role reductions and announced a further 2,000 in first year of 3-year 11,000 1 plan and continued to deliver opex efficiencies. Growth – Reshaped European footprint focused on growing telecommunications markets, with strong positions and good local scale. – Vodafone now growing in all segments and accelerating throughout the year. – Accelerated organic service revenue growth of Vodafone Business to 5.4% in Q4; B2B focus step-up with new organisation, sales transformation plan, investment in products and capabilities and strategic partnership with Microsoft. More remains to be done across all these areas in FY25. Our priorities for the year ahead include: stepping-up our operational performance in Germany; further strengthening our capabilities in Vodafone Business; completing the commercialisation of our shared operations; and completing our in-flight portfolio transformation.

Customers

Revenue market share

Consumer NPS

Detractors

Germany UK

Other Europe South Africa

Key: Improved Deteriorated

Stable

Network quality Very good reliability in all European markets. German cable network quality recognised in 4 independent tests

Simplicity

Productivity 1 c.5k role reductions

Europe opex savings 1 €0.4bn (FY23 and FY24) Shared operations NPS +85%

Employee engagement +75%

Growth 2

Organic service revenue growth +6.3% Organic adjusted EBITDAaL growth +2.2%

B2B organic service revenue growth +5.0%

Adjusted free cash flow €2.6bn

Pre-tax return on capital employed +7.5%

Notes: 1. Includes Vodafone Italy and Vodafone Spain. 2. These are non-GAAP measures. See page 235 for more information.

10 Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2024

Strategic report

Governance

Financials

Other information

Mega trends Long-term trends shaping our industry

Digital payments Businesses in Europe continue to expand and migrate sales channels from physical premises to online channels such as websites and mobile applications. As a result, businesses increasingly transact through mobile-enabled payment services which remove the need for legacy fixed sales terminals. Consequently, businesses demand reliable and secure mobile connectivity. Consumers are also increasingly transitioning away from using cash to digital payment methods conducted directly via mobile phones or smartwatches, further increasing the importance of mobile networks. In Africa, digital payments are primarily conducted via mobile phones through payment networks owned and operated by network operators. The annual value of mobile money transactions reached €1.3 trillion globally in 2023, up 14% versus the previous year 2 . Consumers are also moving beyond peer-to-peer transactions as rising smartphone penetration drives the adoption of mobile payment applications. Network operators and a range of FinTech start-ups are using these applications to sell additional financial services focused products, ranging from advances on mobile airtime and device insurance to more complex offerings such as life insurance, loans and e-commerce marketplaces. These play a critical role in improving financial inclusion for millions of people across Africa in areas where the traditional banking sector has not been able to reach. M-Pesa is Africa’s most successful mobile money service and the region’s largest Fintech platform. It provides more than 63 million customers across six countries in Africa with a safe, secure and affordable way to send and receive money, top up airtime, make bill payments, receive salaries and get short-term loans. Businesses are also increasingly reliant on operator-owned payment infrastructure for consumer-to-business payments and for large business-to-business transfers. These payment networks drive scale benefits for the largest operators by allowing customers to save on transaction fees whilst also driving both business and consumer customers to seek reliable and secure networks. Vodacom’s super app VodaPay allows users to manage money through a digital wallet and make payments for all the products and services that the app offers through a wide range of partner businesses.

Digital services and next-generation connectivity are increasingly central to everything we do – and will be the driving forces that redefine relationships between sectors, employers, employees, customers, and friends and family. There are four ‘mega trends’ that we believe will continue to shape our industry and the key areas of focus in our strategy for the years ahead: connected devices, digital payments, adoption of cloud technology, and generative artificial intelligence. Connected devices The world is becoming ever more connected, and it is not just driven by smartphones. A wide range of new devices, across all sectors and applications, are increasingly being connected to the internet. The number of connections for these devices, known as the Internet of Things (‘IoT’), is expected to increase from 2.9 billion in 2022, to 7.3 billion in 2032 1 . For consumers, there are a growing range of applications such as smartwatches, tracking devices for pets, bags and bicycles, and connected vehicles, which can lower insurance premiums and enable a range of advanced in-vehicle solutions. For businesses, the demand for IoT and potential use cases is even more evident. These include solutions such as automated monitoring of energy usage across national grids, tracking consumption in smart buildings and detecting traffic and congestion in cities. In environments that are more localised, such as factories and ports, network operators are building and running Mobile Private Networks (‘MPNs’). MPNs offer corporate customers unparalleled security and bespoke network control. As an example, MPNs enable autonomous factories to connect to thousands of robots, enabling them to work in a synchronised way. Once a product leaves the factory it can also be tracked seamlessly through global supply chain management applications, whether it is delivered through the post, in a vehicle or even via drones. In areas where the same solution can be deployed across multiple sectors, network operators are moving beyond connectivity to provide complex end-to-end hardware and software solutions such as surveillance, smart metering and remote monitoring. It is often more efficient for these solutions to be created in-house. Scaled operators can leverage their unique position to co-create or partner with nimble start-ups at attractive economics. As the number of IoT devices increases, physical assets are also communicating with each other in real time and new digital markets are being established. This is leading to the Economy of Things, where connected devices securely trade with each other on a user’s behalf, without human intervention. This presents businesses across multiple industries with exciting opportunities to transform goods into tradeable digital assets which can compete in new disruptive online markets.

Read more about how we build platforms for financial inclusion on pages 36-37

Click or scan to watch our digital services and experiences investor briefing: investors.vodafone.com/ digital-services

Read more on how we enable customers to reduce their GHG emissions with IoT on page 41

Click or scan to watch our Vodafone Business investor briefing: investors.vodafone.com/ vbbriefing

Notes: 1. Analysys Mason, 2023. 2. GSMA, 2024.

11 Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2024

Strategic report

Governance

Financials

Other information

Adoption of cloud technology Over the past decade, large technology companies have invested heavily in advanced centralised data storage and processing capabilities that organisations and consumers can access remotely through connectivity services (commonly termed ‘cloud’ technology). As a result, organisations and consumers are increasingly moving away from using their own expensive hardware and device-specific software to using more efficient shared hardware capacity or services through the cloud. This is popular as it allows upfront capital investment savings, the ability to efficiently scale resources to meet demand, systems that can be easily updated and increased resilience. This is driving demand for fast, reliable and secure connectivity with lower latency. Many small businesses increasingly understand the benefits of cloud technology, however, they lack the technical expertise or direct relationships with large enterprise and cloud specialists. This presents an opportunity for network operators, particularly those with strong existing relationships to help customers navigate their move to the cloud at scale. Larger corporates, which may already use the cloud today, are progressively moving away from complex systems based on their own servers or single cloud solutions, to multi-cloud offers sold by network operators and their partners. This approach reduces supplier risk and increases corporate agility and resilience. Large corporates continue to drive higher demand for robust, secure and efficient connectivity services as they transition from their own legacy hardware and services. Cloud providers also recognise the criticality of telecommunications networks. Many cloud providers are partnering with the largest network operators, sometimes through revenue sharing agreements, to develop edge computing solutions which integrate data centres at the edge of telecommunication networks to deliver customers reduced latency. The opportunity is significant, as the total addressable market in business-to-business cloud and security is expected to reach €86 billion by 2028 compared to €47 billion today. Consumers use cloud solutions for a variety of reasons, including digital storage, online media consumption or interacting through the metaverse. Consumer hardware can also in some cases be replaced by cloud-first solutions. For example, new cloud-based gaming services allow consumers to stream complex, bandwidth-heavy computer games directly to their phones or tablets, without the need for expensive dedicated hardware. Fast and reliable connectivity will act as a catalyst for further innovation and consumer applications, many of which do not yet exist today.

Generative artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (‘AI’) is the ability of machines to perform tasks that are typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning and problem-solving. Generative AI (‘Gen AI’) is a type of AI that can create new content, such as images, text or music by learning from existing examples of the same content. It does this by training foundation models, known as Large Language Models (‘LLMs’), on huge sets of example data. At the end of the training, the model can generate content that is statistically similar to the examples used for its training. Growth in computing power and the abundance of data available for training has led to an exponential growth in the size and capability of artificial neural networks, with the release of ChatGPT in November 2022 sparking a significant increase in interest in the technology among both consumers and enterprises. The latest Gen AI models are based on networks with trillions of parameters and have been trained on the entire contents of the internet. Potential applications of Gen AI can range from those that directly benefit customers, such as AI-generated recommendations or hyper-personalised marketing content, to more operational use cases such as analysis of unstructured data or software development ‘co-piloting’ (drafting computer code based on natural-language prompts). The full range of potential applications and long-term impacts of Gen AI are starting to be understood, but the technology is widely expected to drive significant economic benefit globally through productivity increases and new business opportunities. Vodafone is strategically positioned to deploy Gen AI at industry- leading speed and scale, leveraging our deep partnerships with Google and Microsoft and our best-in-class reference architecture and cloud-based data ocean. Initial use cases include enhancing customer satisfaction by delivering hyper-personalised experiences across all Vodafone customer touch points, including Vodafone’s digital assistant TOBi. Vodafone employees will also be able to leverage Gen AI capabilities to transform working practices, boost productivity and improve digital efficiency.

Click or scan to learn more about how Vodafone is working with AI: investors.vodafone.com/ artificial-intelligence

Click to read more about our 10 -year strategic partnership with Microsoft: investors.vodafone.com/ microsoft-strategic-partnership

Read more about Vodafone’s approach to responsible AI on page 46

Click to read more about our six- year strategic partnership with Google: investors.vodafone.com/ google-strategic-partnership

Click or scan to learn more about our cloud technology in our technology investor briefing: investors.vodafone.com/ vtbriefing

Page i Page ii Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116 Page 117 Page 118 Page 119 Page 120 Page 121 Page 122 Page 123 Page 124 Page 125 Page 126 Page 127 Page 128 Page 129 Page 130 Page 131 Page 132 Page 133 Page 134 Page 135 Page 136 Page 137 Page 138 Page 139 Page 140 Page 141 Page 142 Page 143 Page 144 Page 145 Page 146 Page 147 Page 148 Page 149 Page 150 Page 151 Page 152 Page 153 Page 154 Page 155 Page 156 Page 157 Page 158 Page 159 Page 160 Page 161 Page 162 Page 163 Page 164 Page 165 Page 166 Page 167 Page 168 Page 169 Page 170 Page 171 Page 172 Page 173 Page 174 Page 175 Page 176 Page 177 Page 178 Page 179 Page 180 Page 181 Page 182 Page 183 Page 184 Page 185 Page 186 Page 187 Page 188 Page 189 Page 190 Page 191 Page 192 Page 193 Page 194 Page 195 Page 196 Page 197 Page 198