VodafoneThree raises cost-cutting target to £1bn by 2032

Summarised from 3 outlets · 4 reports · Updated 8 Oct, 08:19 · Archive

VodafoneThree has increased its annual cost-saving target to £1bn by 2032, up from an original target of £700m by 2030. The additional £300m in savings was announced just over two months after Vodafone completed its £4.3bn purchase of CK Hutchison's remaining 49 per cent stake in the business, giving it full control of Britain's largest mobile operator.

The company will achieve the savings by reducing its mobile mast and tower network from around 37,000 to about 26,000 sites. Vodafone and Three UK locations are located close to each other in many areas, making network consolidation possible. The cost reductions will also come from eliminating unnecessary duplication made possible by Vodafone's full group ownership of the merged business.

VodafoneThree has insisted the cost cuts will not impact its workforce. The company set new financial targets including mid-to-high single-digit annual growth in adjusted earnings between 2025 and 2032 and plans to more than triple operating free cash flow over the same period.

The savings are part of a wider £11bn investment programme to improve mobile coverage and build a next-generation 5G network across the UK over the next decade. Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone's group chief executive, said the company now had 'even greater confidence' in the merger's potential following a 'strong start'. She said the merger was created to 'transform the UK market' and 'deliver a step change in network quality and customer experience across every region of the UK'.

How it is being reported

• VodafoneThree accelerates cost cutting to reach £1bn by 2032Vodafone’s UK business has earmarked another £300 million of annual cost cuts on top of the original £700 million-a-year target.Evening Standard · 8 Oct, 08:17
• VodafoneThree accelerates cost cutting to reach £1bn by 2032Vodafone’s UK business has earmarked another £300 million of annual cost cuts on top of the original £700 million-a-year target.Independent Business · 8 Oct, 07:59
• VodafoneThree accelerates cost cutting to reach £1bn by 2032Vodafone’s UK business has earmarked another £300 million of annual cost cuts on top of the original £700 million-a-year target.Evening Standard · 8 Oct, 07:59
• VodafoneThree raises cost-cutting target to £1bn after mergerVodafone has hiked its UK cost-saving target to £1bn a year as the telecoms giant looks to boost profits following its merger with Three. The FTSE 100 company said on Thursday it now expects VodafoneThree to deliver £1bn in annual savings by 2032, up from its previous target of £700m by 2030. The upgraded target [...]City AM · 8 Oct, 07:58

In this story: Vodafone · Three · VodafoneThree · CK Hutchison · Margherita Della Valle · UK

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