Vodafone shares dropped on Tuesday after the telecoms group reported a half-year revenue decline of 4.3% to €21.9 billion as several disposals and adverse currency swings hit sales.
Vodafone shares had slipped by 2.4% at the time of writing after rising 1.3% in early trading.
The group’s shares have declined 27% over the past year.
According to Aarin Chierkie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, “revenue and operating profits are heading in the wrong direction for Vodafone, reflecting recent disposals and the structural challenges at hand.”
He states that a lot of Vodafone’s financial resources have been invested in expanding fibre networks and acquiring portions of the 5G spectrum, which is putting pressure on cash flows.
Germany – accounting for 31% of Vodadfone’s service revenue – was a bright spot, reporting quarterly revenue growth of 4.2%, although service revenue for the half year fell.
While Vodafone’s Chief Executive, Margherita Della Valle, stated that the company delivered improved quarterly results in nearly all of its markets, there was weakness in Italy and Spain.
Sales in Spain and Italy continue to fall behind, following Vodafone’s announcement last month of the sale of their Spanish business, Zegona.
Operating profit for the half-year period fell 44.2%.
The company maintained its dividend for the period at 4.5c. Vodafone’s current dividend yield stands at 10%.
However, Chierkie warned this yield may be under threat if the current mediocre performance continues.
“Typically, when companies in this industry have dividend yields above 7%, there is downward pressure on the dividend. Historically, exceptions to the rule have been few and far between, and Vodafone is unlikely to be one of them,” pointed out Aarin Chierkie.
Vodafone’s net debt stands at €36.2 billion, showing a rise of €2.9 billion compared to the first half.