VERIF·AI

integrated telecoms operator (mobile and fixed) · global · high complexity

Deep-Dive · Company Intelligence

Inside Vodafone Group Public Limited Company

Vodafone turned a £1.5bn after-tax profit in FY2024 into a £3.75bn loss in FY2025 while cash nearly doubled.

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Company No.01833679
Statusactive
Latest accountsFY2025 accounts
Filed 8 August 2025 9 months ago

Origin

Vodafone Group Public Limited Company

Vodafone Group Public Limited Company is the ultimate listed parent of one of the world's largest mobile and fixed telecoms groups, operating across Europe and Africa. As the plc holding entity, it also performs group management functions (SIC 70100) for subsidiaries spanning 77 countries.

At a glance

Key data

Founded 1984 8 years on file
Turnover £37.45bn ▲ +2.0% YoY
Pre-tax profit £-1.48bn ▼ 191.2% YoY
Auditor

Timeline

How we got here

2022 01 of 07

Big year-on-year change

Profit after tax surge

Profit after tax more than doubled — from £536.0m to £2.77bn in a single year (+417%).

2020 02 of 07

Big year-on-year change

Operating profit surge

Operating profit more than doubled — from -£951.0m to £4.10bn in a single year (+531%).

2019 03 of 07

Big year-on-year change

Profit after tax collapse

Profit after tax collapsed 374% — from £2.79bn to -£7.64bn.

2018 04 of 07

Where our data starts

Financial deep-dive begins

Earliest analysed accounts: FY2018. 18 years of earlier trading history are not in scope — this report pulls the most recent filed accounts from Companies House.

2000 05 of 07

Name changed

Rebrand

Previously incorporated as Vodafone Airtouch Public Limited Company.

1999 06 of 07

Name changed

Rebrand

Previously incorporated as Vodafone Group Public Limited Company.

1984 07 of 07

Company founded

Incorporated

Vodafone Group Public Limited Company was registered at Companies House on 1984-07-17.

02 · Financials

The numbers, year by year

FY2025 accounts · Companies House

Scene 01 · Revenue

Turnover down 20% across the period

From £46.57bn in FY2018 to £37.45bn in FY2025 — a 20% decline.

Annual Turnover vs Cost of Sales

FY2018 – FY2025 · Companies House

Turnover Cost of Sales Gross Profit
£0 £12.57bn £25.15bn £37.72bn £50.30bn FY2018 FY2019 FY2020 FY2021 FY2022 FY2023 FY2024 FY2025

Scene 02 · Metrics

The headline numbers

Cash at bank £11.00bn ▲ +77.9% vs £6.18bn FY2024 Half as much again as last year — a meaningful step up.
Turnover £37.45bn ▲ +2.0% vs £36.72bn FY2024 Broadly flat — a small uptick on last year.
Pre-tax profit £-1.48bn ▼ 191.2% vs £1.62bn FY2024 Collapsed — most of the value last year is gone.
Net assets £53.92bn ▼ 11.6% vs £61.00bn FY2024 A modest dip — single-digit decline.

Financial health

Fair · 3 signals

Net assets declining Loss-making Cash growing
+ Why this rating
  • Net assets declining — Net assets fell 11.6% — the company is losing value
  • Loss-making — Loss of £1,478,000,000 on turnover of £37,448,000,000
  • Cash growing — Cash increased 77.9% year-on-year

Computed from · cash · net assets · current ratio · debt to equity · total liabilities

Financial performance trends

Revenue, profitability and operating growth over time

Turnover Gross profit Operating
20182019202020212022202320242025

Scene 05 · Full detail

Complete P&L statement

All metrics across FY2018–FY2025, now fully contextualised by the story above.

Profit and loss
£
Metric FY2018FY2019FY2020FY2021FY2022FY2023FY2024FY2025 Δ YoY
Turnover £46.57bn £43.67bn £44.97bn £43.81bn £45.58bn £45.71bn £36.72bn £37.45bn ▲ 2%
Cost of sales -£32.77bn -£30.16bn -£30.68bn -£30.09bn -£30.57bn -£30.85bn -£24.46bn -£24.93bn ▼ 2%
Gross profit £13.80bn £13.51bn £14.29bn £13.72bn £15.01bn £14.86bn £12.26bn £12.52bn ▲ 2%
Other operating income £213.0m -£148.0m £4.28bn £568.0m £50.0m £9.10bn £372.0m £565.0m ▲ 52%
Administrative expenses -£5.12bn -£5.41bn -£5.81bn -£5.35bn -£5.71bn -£6.09bn -£5.77bn -£5.45bn ▲ 6%
Other operating costs derived -£4.60bn -£8.90bn -£8.66bn -£3.84bn -£3.53bn -£3.57bn -£3.20bn -£8.05bn
Operating profit £4.30bn -£951.0m £4.10bn £5.10bn £5.81bn £14.30bn £3.67bn -£411.0m ▼ 111%
Finance income £685.0m £433.0m £248.0m £330.0m £254.0m £248.0m £581.0m £864.0m ▲ 49%
Finance costs -£1.07bn -£2.09bn -£3.55bn -£1.03bn -£1.96bn -£1.73bn -£2.63bn -£1.93bn ▲ 26%
Profit before tax £3.88bn -£2.61bn £795.0m £4.40bn £4.10bn £12.82bn £1.62bn -£1.48bn ▼ 191%
Tax £819.0m -£1.50bn -£1.25bn -£3.86bn -£1.33bn -£481.0m -£50.0m -£2.25bn ▼ 4392%
Profit after tax £2.79bn -£7.64bn -£455.0m £536.0m £2.77bn £12.34bn £1.50bn -£3.75bn ▼ 349%
EBITDA (memo) £13.78bn £13.86bn
Balance sheet
£
Metric FY2018FY2019FY2020FY2021FY2022FY2023FY2024FY2025 Δ YoY
Intangible assets £43.28bn £41.01bn £54.01bn £53.55bn £53.24bn £47.21bn £38.85bn £33.44bn ▼ 14%
Tangible assets £28.32bn £27.43bn £40.11bn £41.24bn £40.80bn £37.99bn £28.50bn £30.71bn ▲ 8%
Investments £7.79bn £4.82bn £6.62bn £5.59bn £6.40bn £12.17bn £11.04bn £10.04bn ▼ 9%
Total fixed assets £107.66bn £103.28bn £135.33bn £126.79bn £126.47bn £124.86bn £104.79bn £99.90bn ▼ 5%
Stocks £581.0m £714.0m £598.0m £676.0m £836.0m £956.0m £568.0m £617.0m ▲ 9%
Debtors £14.00bn £17.36bn £22.12bn £15.70bn £11.02bn £10.71bn £14.56bn £15.84bn ▲ 9%
Cash at bank £4.67bn £13.64bn £13.56bn £5.82bn £7.50bn £11.71bn £6.18bn £11.00bn ▲ 78%
Total current assets £24.13bn £39.82bn £33.25bn £27.01bn £27.58bn £30.66bn £20.51bn £28.62bn ▲ 40%
Trade creditors -£16.24bn -£17.65bn -£6.70bn -£6.74bn -£19.66bn -£18.25bn -£5.61bn -£6.16bn ▼ 10%
Bank loans (current) -£4.17bn -£4.17bn -£1.38bn -£658.0m -£3.0m £0 -£365.0m -£204.0m ▲ 44%
Total current liabilities £28.02bn £25.52bn £33.38bn £28.71bn £33.65bn £34.58bn £22.35bn £22.75bn ▲ 2%
Net current assets -£3.89bn £14.29bn -£139.0m -£1.70bn -£6.07bn -£3.92bn -£1.84bn £5.87bn ▲ 419%
Total assets less current liabilities £117.59bn £117.34bn £134.78bn £126.35bn £120.40bn £120.94bn £122.00bn £105.77bn ▼ 13%
Bank loans (non-current) -£48.69bn -£48.69bn -£1.50bn -£761.0m -£2.0m -£2.0m -£402.0m -£1.01bn ▼ 151%
Long-term liabilities £37.98bn £53.89bn £72.16bn £68.54bn £63.33bn £56.45bn £54.08bn £51.85bn ▼ 4%
Provisions £1.96bn £2.40bn £2.53bn £2.64bn £2.55bn £2.25bn £2.45bn £2.50bn ▲ 2%
Net assets £68.61bn £63.45bn £62.62bn £57.82bn £57.07bn £64.48bn £61.00bn £53.92bn ▼ 12%
Total equity £68.61bn £63.45bn £62.62bn £57.82bn £57.07bn £64.48bn £61.00bn £53.92bn ▼ 12%
Cash flow
£
Metric FY2018FY2019FY2020FY2021FY2022FY2023FY2024FY2025 Δ YoY
Net cash from operating activities £13.60bn £12.98bn £17.38bn £17.21bn £18.08bn £18.05bn £16.56bn £15.37bn ▼ 7%
Net cash used in investing activities -£9.84bn -£9.22bn -£8.09bn -£9.26bn -£6.87bn -£379.0m -£6.12bn £4.76bn ▲ 178%
Net cash used in financing activities -£7.23bn £4.44bn -£9.35bn -£15.20bn -£9.71bn -£13.43bn -£15.86bn -£15.28bn ▲ 4%
Net increase / (decrease) in cash -£3.48bn £8.20bn -£61.0m -£7.24bn £1.51bn £4.25bn -£5.42bn £4.85bn ▲ 190%
Cash at end of year £5.39bn £13.61bn £13.29bn £5.79bn £7.37bn £11.63bn £6.11bn £10.89bn ▲ 78%

Scene 04 · Waterfall

From revenue to profit

How each cost layer eats into the top-line on the way down to profit after tax. Cascade chart coming in the next release — for now the table below shows the same flow.

  1. Revenue£37.45bn
  2. Cost of sales−£24.93bn
  3. Gross profit£12.52bn
  4. Operating costs−£12.93bn
  5. Operating profit-£411.0m
  6. Tax−£3.33bn
  7. Profit after tax-£3.75bn

FY2025 accounts · cascade view

03 · Risk

What the filings reveal

Concrete signals · descriptive only

Working capital + cash

Where the money sits

Four numbers that tell you how stretched the balance sheet is today. The line under each is in plain English — what the number means for the business, not what to do about it.

Short-term cover Current ratio · liquidity 1.26× For every £1 of short-term bills they hold £1.26 of cash and quickly-sellable assets. Covered, but no real buffer.
Customer payment speed Debtor days · working capital 154 Over 154 days to collect — a serious lag. A large slice of "sales" is sitting unpaid as IOUs from customers.
Brand & goodwill share Intangibles ratio · asset quality 26.0% A notable 26.0% of the balance sheet is intangible — patents, brands, goodwill. Real value but harder to verify if challenged.

Principal risks

As disclosed in the filed accounts

01

Customer Experience & Competitive Position

Risk of losing customers or market share due to failure to deliver simple and predictable customer experiences, particularly in Germany where turnaround is ongoing.

02

Germany Market Decline

Significant revenue and EBITDA decline in Germany driven by MDU TV law change, broadband customer losses and high competitive intensity.

03

Geopolitical & Macroeconomic Risk

Adverse foreign exchange movements, hyperinflation in Türkiye and Ethiopia, and broader macroeconomic pressures impacting reported results.

04

Privacy, Security & Cyber Resilience

Risk of cyber attacks or data breaches affecting customer data and critical network infrastructure across 15+ countries.

05

Regulatory & Legal Risk

Operating in heavily regulated markets across Europe and Africa; changes in spectrum, licensing, competition law and TV regulation can materially impact performance.

Screening status

Independent checks completed

No critical risk flagsNo kill switches fired Sanctions check · ClearFCDO sanctions screen Potential sanctions · 3 reviewsLow-confidence name overlap Politically-exposed persons · None foundPEP screen · 0 hits Status · Active

Governance & subsequent events

Who controls this entity, what's changed since year-end

Post-balance-sheet event · 31 May 2025

Completion of the merger between Vodafone UK and Three UK on 31 May 2025, creating a scaled third UK network operator with Vodafone and CK Hutchison owning 51% and 49% respectively.

Post-balance-sheet event · May 2025

Second €2.0 billion share buyback programme commenced.

Post-balance-sheet event · April 2025

Vodafone Idea Limited's shareholding diluted from 24.4% to 16.1% following government conversion of US$4.3 billion of spectrum dues to equity.

Post-balance-sheet event · 7 May 2025

Announcement that Luka Mucic will step down as Chief Financial Officer no later than early 2026.

Compliance signals

What the compliance pass surfaced

Partial Sanctions Matches (×3)

Three individuals returned potential matches under UK sanctions regimes, though all are low-to-medium confidence partial hits requiring manual verification to rule out false positives.

Severity · high

Outstanding Secured Charges (×5)

Five outstanding or part-satisfied charges are registered against the company, indicating a material level of secured financial obligations that may affect counterparty risk.

Severity · high

High Director Turnover

58 directors have resigned against 13 currently active, raising concerns around governance continuity and the potential use of nominee arrangements.

Severity · medium

Short-Tenure Directors (×7)

Seven directors served fewer than 12 months, compounding turnover concerns and warranting scrutiny of appointment and exit circumstances.

Severity · medium

Ownership pattern

What the ownership structure suggests

Family Wealth · Directors and PSCs share a single family-office address.

What we can't see
Trust beneficial owners are recorded on HMRC's Trust Registration Service, which is not publicly accessible. We surface the trust's legal name and the UK-resident PSCs identified by Companies House.

Internal data-quality signals · expand

These are Verif-AI's own confidence scores in the underlying data — not external risk ratings. Each dimension reflects how complete and self-consistent the filed numbers were on extraction.

Financial completeness 55
Compliance signals 50
Operational disclosure 72
Data confidence 70

04 · Market

Sector and benchmarks

SIC2007 · cohort metrics

Industry classification

Information & communication

Companies House records the SIC2007 classification for this entity under 2 codes: 61900, 70100.

Sector context · thin

This filing doesn't carry segment reporting, concentration analysis, or a stated-priorities block — typical for small / micro-entity filings where the disclosure threshold is lower. The SIC classification above is the load-bearing market signal.

05 · People

The people behind the company

14 directors · 0 PSCs · 27.8m UK appointments cross-referenced

Every named director was cross-checked against the full UK Companies House appointments dataset (27.8 million records). The four numbers below summarise what we found across the board — each director's individual breakdown is shown in the grid further down.

Directors analysed 13 1 corporate · cross-checked against 27.8m records
Avg failure rate 0.0% share of prior companies that went into liquidation / dissolution
Max concurrent boards 2 most active director sits on 2 boards · 1.1 avg
Phoenix signals 0 no director linked to dissolved-and-restarted companies

Each director, individually

Career history + cross-references

Role Director Career boards Concurrent Prior-failure rate Joined Other UK boards
Director · active
Jean-Francois Maurice Louis Van Boxmeer Belgian · Belgium
1 2020-07-28
Director · active
Deborah Kerr American · United States
1 2022-03-01
Director · active
Maria Amparo Moraleda Martinez Spanish · Spain
1 2017-06-01
Director · active
Maria Pilar Lopez Alvarez Spanish · United Kingdom
1 2025-12-01
Director · active
MRS Kandimathie Christine Ramon South African · South Africa
2 2 2006-08-25
Director · active
MR Hatem Mohamed Galal Dowidar Egyptian · United Arab Emirates
1 2024-02-19
Director · active
MR Simon Anthony Segars British · United States
1 2022-07-26
Director · active
Margherita Della Valle Italian, British · United Kingdom
1 2018-07-27
Director · active
MR Simon Dingemans British · United Kingdom
1 2025-01-01

Co-director network

Who sits on other UK boards alongside these directors

People who share at least one other UK directorship with someone on this board. Sorted by overlap count. Click any shared boards chip to reveal the companies they overlap on.

Margherita Della Valle 1 career appointment 1 shared board

Shared-board names aren't surfaced for this report yet — they live in the underlying network appointments but haven't been promoted to parse_meta. Email support and we'll add them on request.

MS Delphine Ernotte Cunci 1 career appointment 1 shared board

Shared-board names aren't surfaced for this report yet — they live in the underlying network appointments but haven't been promoted to parse_meta. Email support and we'll add them on request.

Maria Amparo Moraleda Martinez 1 career appointment 1 shared board

Shared-board names aren't surfaced for this report yet — they live in the underlying network appointments but haven't been promoted to parse_meta. Email support and we'll add them on request.

MR Michel Roger Demare 1 career appointment 1 shared board

Shared-board names aren't surfaced for this report yet — they live in the underlying network appointments but haven't been promoted to parse_meta. Email support and we'll add them on request.

Deborah Kerr 1 career appointment 1 shared board

Shared-board names aren't surfaced for this report yet — they live in the underlying network appointments but haven't been promoted to parse_meta. Email support and we'll add them on request.

Jean-Francois Maurice Louis Van Boxmeer 1 career appointment 1 shared board

Shared-board names aren't surfaced for this report yet — they live in the underlying network appointments but haven't been promoted to parse_meta. Email support and we'll add them on request.

Rynhardt Van Rooyen 1 career appointment 1 shared board

Shared-board names aren't surfaced for this report yet — they live in the underlying network appointments but haven't been promoted to parse_meta. Email support and we'll add them on request.

Petrus Paulus Albertus Steyn 1 career appointment 1 shared board

Shared-board names aren't surfaced for this report yet — they live in the underlying network appointments but haven't been promoted to parse_meta. Email support and we'll add them on request.

Lawrence Patrick Adrian Davies 1 career appointment 1 shared board

Shared-board names aren't surfaced for this report yet — they live in the underlying network appointments but haven't been promoted to parse_meta. Email support and we'll add them on request.

Giullean Johann Strauss 1 career appointment 1 shared board

Shared-board names aren't surfaced for this report yet — they live in the underlying network appointments but haven't been promoted to parse_meta. Email support and we'll add them on request.

+ Show the 60 resigned officers

Historical board

Resigned network

Every officer who has left the company, newest-resignation first. Helps spot waves of churn that wouldn't show on the active-director cards alone.

2023

Rosemary Elisabeth Scudamore Martin

Secretary Served 2010 → 2023
2010

Stephen Roy Scott

Secretary Resigned 2010-03-30
2002

Josef Ackermann

Director Served 2000 → 2002
2021

Sanjiv Ahuja

Director Served 2018 → 2021
2006

Peter Richard Bamford

Director Served 1998 → 2006
1998

William, Sir Barlow

Director Resigned 1998-03-31
2011

Sir John Reginald Hartnell, Sir Bond

Director Served 2005 → 2011
2008

Michael Jay Boskin

Director Served 1999 → 2008
2007

Alec Nigel, Professor Lord Broers

Director Served 1999 → 2007
1999

Alec Nigel, The Lord Broers

Director Served 1998 → 1999
2012

John Gordon St Clair, Dr Buchanan

Director Served 2003 → 2012
1999

David Channing Williams

Director Served 1996 → 1999
1998

Robert Anthony, Sir Clark

Director Resigned 1998-03-31
2018

Vittorio Amedeo Colao

Director Served 2006 → 2018
2004

Vittorio Amedeo Colao

Director Served 2002 → 2004
2012

Michel Marie Alain Combes

Director Served 2009 → 2012
2023

Sir Crispin Davis

Director Served 2014 → 2023
2018

Mathias Oliver Christian, Dr Dopfner

Director Served 2015 → 2018
2000

Klaus, Dr Esser

Director Served 2000 → 2000
2000

Donald George Fisher

Director Served 1999 → 2000
2023

Clara Hedwig Frances, Dame Furse

Director Served 2014 → 2023
2006

Thomas Geitner

Director Served 2000 → 2006
2003

Christopher Charles, Sir Gent

Director Resigned 2003-07-30
1999

John Gildersleeve

Director Served 1998 → 1999
2000

Samuel Lou Ginn

Director Served 1999 → 2000
2023

Valerie Frances Gooding

Director Served 2014 → 2023
1999

Mohanbir Singh Gyani

Director Served 1999 → 1999
2014

Andrew Nigel Halford

Director Served 2005 → 2014
1998

Ernest Thomas, Sir Harrison

Director Resigned 1998-07-21
2006

Paul Mandeville Hazen

Director Served 1999 → 2006
1996

David Henning

Director Served 1992 → 1996
2006

Julian Michael, Sir Horn-Smith

Director Served 1996 → 2006
2006

Penelope Lesley Hughes

Director Served 1998 → 2006
2005

Kenneth John Hydon

Director Resigned 2005-07-26
2021

Renee James

Director Served 2011 → 2021
2014

Alan Wayne Jebson

Director Served 2006 → 2014
2019

Samuel Esson Jonah

Director Served 2009 → 2019
2020

Gerhard Johannes Kleisterlee

Director Served 2011 → 2020
2014

Omid Kordestani

Director Served 2013 → 2014
2017

Nicholas Charles Edward Land

Director Served 2006 → 2017
2014

Anne Lauvergeon

Director Served 2005 → 2014
1997

Geoffrey John Lomer

Director Served 1992 → 1997
2006

Ian Charter, Lord Maclaurin Of Knebworth Maclaurin

Director Served 1997 → 2006
2021

Olaf Klaus Meijer Swantee

Director Served 2021 → 2021
2025

Luka Mucic

Director Served 2023 → 2025
2010

Simon Murray

Director Served 2007 → 2010
2025

David Thomas Nish

Director Served 2016 → 2025
1997

Edward John Peett

Director Resigned 1997-10-31
2015

Stephen Charles Pusey

Director Served 2009 → 2015
2022

Nicholas Jonathan Read

Director Served 2014 → 2022
2008

Arun Sarin

Director Served 1999 → 2008
2005

David Gerald, Sir Scholey

Director Served 1998 → 2005
2008

Jurgen Erich Schrempp

Director Served 2000 → 2008
2001

Henning Schulte Noelle

Director Served 2000 → 2001
2000

Charles Robert Schwab

Director Served 1999 → 2000
2020

David Ingle Thodey

Director Served 2019 → 2020
2015

Luc Emile Rene Vandevelde

Director Served 2003 → 2015
2014

Anthony Watson

Director Served 2006 → 2014
1998

Gerald Arthur, Sir Whent

Director Resigned 1998-07-21
2017

Philip Edward Yea

Director Served 2005 → 2017

06 · AI Investigation

Case file open · File no. 01833679 · 15 May 2026 · Trust signal · 57/100 · AI confidence · 92%

Vodafone is a shrinking empire trying to slim down fast enough to survive its own debt.

AI forensic pass across 100 Companies House filings. 33 page-cited signals from three specialist agents, 3 cross-signal correlations, and 4 verification questions for management — every claim traces back to a filing reference.

Critical
5
Load-bearing signals
Warning
12
Context to the verdict
Structural
16
Supporting facts
Evidence
9
Distinct pages cited

AI Analyst commentary

What the numbers, the board, and the ownership say

Narrator-written context blocks — what an analyst would read in 90 seconds and walk away with the picture.

Balance sheet

Fixed assets fell to £99.9bn from £104.8bn as the disposal programme continues. Cash jumped to £11.0bn while long-term debt dropped to £51.9bn — the balance sheet is deleveraging, but the £7.1bn fall in net assets shows the losses are leaving a mark.

Board

15 directors currently registered at Companies House — large board consistent with a listed global plc. CEO Margherita Della Valle also directs Centrica Plc and two Vodafone subsidiaries — cross-directorship worth noting for governance purposes.

Ownership

Vodafone is a listed plc — no single controlling shareholder; institutional ownership typical of a London Stock Exchange-listed group. The group spans 77 countries with subsidiaries across telecoms and holding structures — ultimate ownership rests with public markets, not a single individual or family.

Case files · Chapter dossier

The investigation, chapter by chapter

Each chapter resolves one signal cluster. The headline number is the picture the AI built from the filing; the prose carries the forensic context and the source citation.

Chapter 01

Profit Collapses, Revenue Holds

Turnover barely moved; the bottom line fell off a cliff.

Operating profit

FY2024 £3.7bn
FY2025 -£411m

A 2% rise in turnover tells you almost nothing about what happened to this business in FY2025. Operating profit swung from a £3.67bn gain to a £411m loss — an £4.1bn reversal at the operating level alone, before financing costs or tax. Something structural changed, not just a bad trading quarter.

Source · Profit & Loss Account, FY2024 vs FY2025

Chapter 02

The Tax Bill That Wasn't

A £50 million tax charge became £2.25 billion in twelve months.

-4392%
Tax charge FY2024: £50m FY2025: £2.2bn

In FY2024, Vodafone paid £50 million in tax against a £1.62 billion pre-tax profit. In FY2025, it paid £2.25 billion in tax against a £1.48 billion pre-tax loss. Tax charges running in the opposite direction to profits is the single most unusual feature of this filing and warrants direct scrutiny of the tax notes.

Source · Profit & Loss Account, FY2025 — tax line

Chapter 03

Cash Rose While Profits Fell

Despite a £3.75bn after-tax loss, cash on the balance sheet jumped 78%.

+78%
Cash on balance sheet FY2024: £6.2bn FY2025: £11.0bn

Cash climbed from £6.18 billion to £11 billion even as the company posted its largest loss in this filing period. The investing cash flow line flipped from a £6.12 billion outflow to a £4.76 billion inflow — consistent with material asset disposals. The cash position and the loss are pulling in opposite directions.

Source · Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement, FY2025

Chapter 04

Assets Sold, Balance Sheet Shrinks

Fixed assets fell £4.9 billion and net assets dropped 12% in a single year.

-12%
Net assets FY2024: £61.0bn FY2025: £53.9bn

Fixed assets declined from £104.8 billion to £99.9 billion, and net assets fell from £61 billion to £53.9 billion. The investing cash flow reversal — from outflow to inflow — points squarely at disposals rather than organic deterioration. The balance sheet is materially smaller than it was twelve months ago.

Source · Balance Sheet FY2024 vs FY2025; Cash Flow Statement FY2025

Chapter 05

Debt Held, Equity Eroded

Long-term liabilities fell slightly, but equity absorbed the full weight of the losses.

£51.9bn Long-term liabilities FY2025
vs
£53.9bn Total equity FY2025

Long-term liabilities reduced modestly from £54.1 billion to £51.9 billion. Current liabilities were broadly flat at £22.8 billion. The £7.1 billion reduction in equity is not matched by equivalent debt repayment — the loss, not deleveraging, drove the equity decline. The financing cash outflow remained heavy at £15.3 billion.

Source · Balance Sheet FY2025; Cash Flow Statement FY2025

Chapter 06

Company Evolution and Control

Four decades of name changes; no single shareholder holds 25% or more.

Jul 1984 Incorporated as Racal Strategic Radio Limited
Sep 1991 Renamed Vodafone Group Public Limited Company
Jun 1999 Renamed Vodafone AirTouch PLC (post-merger)
Jul 2000 Reverted to Vodafone Group Public Limited Company
Dec 2025 Share allotment filed (SH01)

Vodafone traces back to Racal Strategic Radio Limited, incorporated in 1984, passing through six name changes before arriving at its current identity. No person of significant control is recorded at Companies House — meaning either no individual holds 25% or more, or the stake is held through a structure that does not trigger PSC registration.

Source · Companies House name history; PSC register

Cross-signal intelligence

AI correlations across the filing

Pairs of facts from different chapters that — taken together — tell a story neither half does alone. This is where investigation outperforms summary.

The £4.76 billion investing cash inflow in [chapter 3] is the most plausible explanation for the £4.89 billion drop in fixed assets visible in [chapter 4], pointing to deliberate asset disposal rather than write-down alone.

The £2.25 billion tax charge in [chapter 2] — larger than the pre-tax loss itself — directly amplifies the £3.75 billion after-tax loss that eroded the £7.1 billion of equity shown in [chapter 5].

The heavy financing cash outflow of £15.3 billion in [chapter 5] sits alongside the 78% cash rise in [chapter 3], raising the question of what inflows — most likely from disposals — were large enough to offset both the loss and the financing outflow simultaneously.

Deep signals

Buried in the filing

Specifics most readers would miss — surfaced by the AI for the analyst who wants to know.

01

Cash surge despite a pre-tax loss

Consistent with significant non-trading cash inflows — likely disposal proceeds from the ongoing portfolio rationalisation (e.g. market exits). Cash and profitability have decoupled, which is a typical pattern for a large group mid-restructuring. The cash figure reflects the group's treasury position, not its trading performance.

02

FY2023 profit spike — a disposal event, not a trading peak

A spike of this magnitude, followed by an immediate normalisation, is consistent with a large one-off gain from a disposal or asset sale rather than a structural improvement in trading. Readers should not treat the FY2023 figure as a recurring earnings benchmark.

03

Debtors growing faster than revenue for two consecutive years

Appears consistent with either growing intercompany receivables (subsidiaries drawing on the parent's balance sheet) or modest deterioration in external customer collections. At this scale the amounts are manageable, but the divergence from revenue growth is worth noting.

Forensic investigation · 33 signals

Three specialist agents, working in parallel

Segmental revenue · capital structure · strategic KPIs. Each agent cites the exact filing page for every claim, with an AI confidence score derived from cross-citation strength.

01

Segmental Analysis

Germany revenue fell 3.2% year-on-year

Germany revenue dropped from €12,585m in FY2024 to €12,180m in FY2025, a decline of €405m (-3.2%). Adjusted EBITDAaL also fell from €5,017m to €4,384m (-12.6%).

p.6 · 9 more from this specialist

02

Capital Structure & Borrowings

Interest cover is deeply negative — earnings do not cover interest

Operating loss was €411m and finance costs were €1,931m, giving an interest cover ratio of roughly -0.2x.

p.1, p.9 · 12 more from this specialist

03

Strategic KPIs

Service revenue growing steadily at 5.1% organically

Organic service revenue growth was +5.1% in FY25, down from +6.3% in FY24. Reported service revenue was £30,758m vs £29,912m prior year.

p.3, p.6, p.8 · 9 more from this specialist

+ Show all 33 specialist findings

Segmental Analysis (10)

01

Germany revenue fell 3.2% year-on-year

Germany revenue dropped from €12,585m in FY2024 to €12,180m in FY2025, a decline of €405m (-3.2%). Adjusted EBITDAaL also fell from €5,017m to €4,384m (-12.6%).

Why it matters: The largest segment is shrinking in both revenue and profit, which drags on the whole group and suggests competitive or market pressure in the core market.

p.6 critical conf 95%

02

Germany profit fell over 12% — a big drop for the group's top earner

Germany Adjusted EBITDAaL fell from €5,017m (FY2024) to €4,384m (FY2025), a fall of €633m or 12.6%. Germany is the single largest profit contributor.

Why it matters: A double-digit profit drop in the biggest segment means the group's earnings engine is under real stress, making the overall group profit outlook weaker.

p.6 critical conf 95%

03

Group operating result swung from a big profit to a loss

Group operating (loss)/profit moved from a profit of €3,665m in FY2024 to a loss of €411m in FY2025. FY2023 was €14,451m profit (which included large disposal gains).

Why it matters: The group swung to an operating loss in FY2025 mainly due to impairment charges of €4,515m, meaning the business as a whole made no money from operations after write-downs.

p.6 critical conf 95%

04

Spain and Italy removed as segments after disposals completed

Vodafone Spain was disposed of on 31 May 2024 and Vodafone Italy on 31 December 2024. Both ceased to be reportable segments in FY2025. FY2023 combined revenue was approximately €10,662m (Spain €6,331m + Italy €10,235m — noting Italy was in FY2023 comparatives only).

Why it matters: The group is now much smaller in European revenue terms, with two large markets gone. Investors need to compare like-for-like numbers carefully as the group structure has fundamentally changed.

p.6, p.7 critical conf 92%

05

Germany is the largest single segment at 33% of group revenue

Germany generated €12,180m revenue in FY2025 (FY2024: €12,585m), representing 32.5% of total group revenue of €37,448m. No single segment exceeds 70% of total.

Why it matters: Germany drives roughly one in three euros of group sales, so any slowdown there has an outsized impact on overall group performance.

p.6 important conf 95%

06

Africa segment growing strongly in revenue and profit

Africa revenue grew from €6,981m (FY2024) to €7,791m (FY2025), up €810m (+11.6%). Adjusted EBITDAaL grew from €2,539m to €2,593m (+2.1%).

Why it matters: Africa is one of the few segments showing solid revenue growth and is becoming a more important part of the group's future, offsetting weakness in Europe.

p.6 important conf 93%

07

Türkiye segment more than doubled in revenue year-on-year

Türkiye revenue grew from €2,362m (FY2024) to €3,086m (FY2025), up €724m (+30.7%). Adjusted EBITDAaL grew from €510m to €842m (+65.1%). FY2023 was €1,424m revenue.

Why it matters: Much of Türkiye's growth reflects hyperinflation accounting rather than real business growth, so these headline numbers overstate true underlying performance.

p.6, p.3 important conf 88%

08

Total group revenue declined year-on-year on a reported basis

Group total segment revenue was €37,448m in FY2025 versus €36,717m in FY2024 on a continuing operations basis (per segmental table). However FY2023 was €37,672m including Spain/Italy.

Why it matters: On a like-for-like basis (excluding disposed businesses) the group is slightly larger, but the absolute revenue base is smaller than two years ago due to major disposals.

p.6 important conf 85%

09

UK segment revenue grew modestly; profit up

UK revenue rose from €6,837m (FY2024) to €6,996m (FY2025), up €159m (+2.3%). Adjusted EBITDAaL increased from €1,408m to €1,558m (+10.7%).

Why it matters: The UK is showing improving profitability on modest revenue growth, which is a positive sign for the second-largest European market.

p.6 useful conf 93%

10

Common Functions segment makes almost no profit

Common Functions (central teams and business functions) had revenue of €1,817m in FY2025 (FY2024: €1,864m) but Adjusted EBITDAaL of only €45m (FY2024: €29m).

Why it matters: Central costs nearly wipe out central revenues, confirming this is a cost centre, not a profit driver — as expected for a head office function.

p.6 useful conf 90%

Capital Structure & Borrowings (13)

01

Interest cover is deeply negative — earnings do not cover interest

Operating loss was €411m and finance costs were €1,931m, giving an interest cover ratio of roughly -0.2x.

Why it matters: The company is not earning enough from operations to pay its interest bill, which means it relies on asset sales or reserves to service its debt.

p.1, p.9 critical conf 95%

02

Net debt is €22.4bn — a big improvement this year

Closing net debt was €22,397m at 31 March 2025, down from €33,242m a year earlier, a reduction of €10,845m.

Why it matters: The company paid down a huge chunk of debt this year, mainly by selling Vodafone Spain and Vodafone Italy, so it owes much less than it did.

p.2 important conf 98%

03

Total borrowings are €53bn gross, but offset by €11bn cash

Gross borrowings were €53,143m (FY24: €56,987m) and cash was €11,001m (FY24: €6,183m), giving net borrowings of €42,142m before short-term investments.

Why it matters: The company has a lot of gross debt but also holds significant cash, so its true exposure is lower than the headline borrowings figure suggests.

p.3 important conf 97%

04

Equity dividends paid were €1,787m — down from €2,430m last year

Equity dividends paid in FY25 were €1,787m versus €2,430m in FY24, a reduction of €643m.

Why it matters: The company cut its cash dividend outflow this year, which helps conserve cash but may concern income-focused investors.

p.2 important conf 95%

05

Share buyback programme spent €1,868m this year

The company spent €1,868m on buying back its own shares in FY25 (FY24: nil). A new irrevocable non-discretionary buyback was announced in February 2025.

Why it matters: Spending almost €1.9bn on buybacks while also carrying €22bn of net debt shows the company believes it has enough cash, but it does increase total debt relative to equity.

p.2, p.7 important conf 95%

06

Net debt to EBITDA is about 2x — within normal range

Adjusted EBITDAaL was €10,932m and closing net debt was €22,397m, giving a ratio of roughly 2.0x.

Why it matters: Banks and investors often worry when this ratio goes above 3-4x; at 2x the company is well within safe territory on this measure.

p.2, p.3 useful conf 90%

07

Bonds are the main source of debt at €36.4bn

Bonds totalled €36,402m at 31 March 2025 (FY24: €40,743m), down due to €7,408m net bond repayments in the year.

Why it matters: Bond markets are the company's main lender, so any change in credit conditions or investor appetite could affect how cheaply it can refinance.

p.3 useful conf 96%

08

Lease liabilities total €10.8bn under IFRS 16

IFRS 16 lease liabilities were €10,826m at 31 March 2025 (FY24: €9,672m), with €2,765m due within one year and €3,868m due in more than five years.

Why it matters: These are real cash commitments for renting network sites, offices and other assets — they add to the company's total obligations.

p.12 useful conf 97%

09

Lease payments within one year are €2.8bn

Lease liabilities maturing within one year were €2,765m at 31 March 2025 versus €2,603m at 31 March 2024.

Why it matters: This is cash the company must pay to landlords and site owners in the next 12 months regardless of trading performance.

p.12 useful conf 97%

10

Gross debt fell by €3.8bn — mainly from repaying Indian-backed loans

Borrowings fell from €56,987m to €53,143m, primarily due to repaying €1,794m of bank borrowings secured on Indian assets and a net reduction in bonds of €7,408m, partly offset by new bond issuances of €3,358m.

Why it matters: Active debt reduction lowers future interest costs and reduces the risk that lenders could demand early repayment.

p.3 useful conf 93%

11

No covenant details or loan limits disclosed in these pages

The report does not disclose specific financial covenant tests, loan limits or any waivers in the pages reviewed.

Why it matters: Without knowing the loan limits, it is hard for outsiders to judge how close the company is to breaching any borrowing conditions.

p.3 useful conf 80%

12

Free cash flow was positive at €1,850m

Free cash flow for FY25 was €1,850m, up from €1,783m in FY24, an increase of €67m.

Why it matters: Positive free cash flow means the business generates enough cash from operations to cover capital spending, reducing reliance on new borrowing.

p.2 useful conf 97%

13

Non-current liabilities fell by €2.2bn to €59.1bn

Non-current liabilities decreased by €2.2bn between 31 March 2024 and 31 March 2025 to €59.1bn, mainly due to a €3.2bn drop in borrowings offset by a €0.8bn rise in trade payables.

Why it matters: Lower long-term liabilities means the company's balance sheet obligations have reduced, though they remain very large in absolute terms.

p.1 useful conf 90%

Strategic KPIs (10)

01

Service revenue growing steadily at 5.1% organically

Organic service revenue growth was +5.1% in FY25, down from +6.3% in FY24. Reported service revenue was £30,758m vs £29,912m prior year.

Why it matters: Service revenue is the core income from customers paying their bills — it growing at 5% shows the business is still winning and keeping customers, which is a good sign for anyone trading with Vodafone.

p.3, p.6, p.8 important conf 95%

02

Big reported operating loss of £411m vs £3.7bn profit last year

Operating (loss)/profit swung from a profit of £3,665m in FY24 to a loss of £411m in FY25. Net loss for the year from continuing operations was £3,724m vs a profit of £1,570m in FY24.

Why it matters: A reported operating loss this large — largely driven by write-downs from selling Italy and Spain — means the headline profit figures look very bad, but the underlying trading business is still generating cash, so this is a one-off accounting impact rather than a trading collapse.

p.8 important conf 90%

03

Net debt fell sharply thanks to Italy and Spain sale proceeds

Net debt dropped to £22,397m in FY25 from £33,242m in FY24, a reduction of over £10bn. Cash proceeds from Spain, Italy and Vantage disposals totalled £13.3bn.

Why it matters: A much lower debt pile means Vodafone is under far less pressure to pay interest, freeing up cash for investment and shareholder returns — this is a meaningful improvement in the financial safety of the business.

p.3, p.8 important conf 95%

04

Dividend cut — from 9 eurocents to 4.5 eurocents per share

Total dividend per share for FY25 is 4.5 eurocents, half the 9.0 eurocents paid in both FY24 and FY23.

Why it matters: Halving the dividend is a big cut for income investors — Vodafone says this reflects the smaller, reshaped business after selling Italy and Spain, but anyone relying on dividend income will receive significantly less.

p.3, p.6, p.8 important conf 97%

05

EBITDA held broadly flat — cost savings offset Germany weakness

Adjusted EBITDAaL was £10,932m in FY25 vs £11,019m in FY24, a drop of about 0.8%. On a like-for-like basis it grew +2.5%.

Why it matters: EBITDA shows how much cash the business generates from running itself — staying nearly flat despite a tough German market means the cost-cutting programme is working, which is reassuring for suppliers and lenders.

p.3, p.6, p.8 useful conf 92%

06

Free cash flow dropped — from £2.6bn to £2.5bn

Adjusted free cash flow fell to £2,548m in FY25 from £2,600m in FY24, a drop of about 2%.

Why it matters: Free cash flow is the actual cash left over after running the business and investing in networks — it falling slightly is not alarming but bears watching, especially as the company funds a £4bn share buyback programme.

p.3, p.6, p.8 useful conf 93%

07

Customer satisfaction improving — 9 out of 15 markets lead on NPS

Vodafone leads or co-leads on Net Promoter Score in 9 of its 15 markets as of FY25. Deep detractors fell by 6% across European markets.

Why it matters: NPS measures whether customers would recommend Vodafone — leading in more than half of markets means customers are happier, which reduces the risk of them leaving and lowers future revenue risk.

p.3, p.5, p.6 useful conf 85%

08

Productivity drive on track — 7,700 roles cut so far

7,700 role reductions delivered up to FY25, against a 3-year plan of 10,000. Total employees and contractors now 92,000 vs 93,000 in FY24.

Why it matters: Cutting costs by reducing headcount is a key part of Vodafone's plan to become more profitable — being 77% of the way through its 3-year target shows the cost programme is running to plan.

p.3, p.5, p.6 useful conf 88%

09

Pre-tax return on capital steady at 7.0% vs 7.2% last year

Pre-tax ROCE was 7.0% in FY25, slightly down from 7.2% in FY24, partly affected by the MDU (multi-dwelling unit) impact in Germany (-0.8pp) and underlying Germany weakness (-0.3pp).

Why it matters: Return on capital tells you how efficiently the business uses the money invested in it — staying around 7% shows Vodafone is generating a steady but not outstanding return, which matters for investors deciding whether the stock is worth holding.

p.3, p.6 useful conf 87%

10

Europe opex savings of £0.4bn delivered over two years

Europe opex savings of £0.4bn achieved from FY23 to FY25, driven by lower energy costs and productivity actions.

Why it matters: Cutting running costs while growing revenue is the key to improving profit margins — these savings show the simplification strategy is delivering real money, not just promises.

p.3, p.6 useful conf 85%

Specialist deep panels · Structured price capture

Every figure the specialists extracted

Below the prose findings, each agent publishes a structured numeric metrics block. Segmental revenue, named KPIs with YoY %, and capital-structure metrics — direct from the source filings.

Segmental analysis

Revenue & operating profit by business division

Segment Revenue (latest) Operating profit Rev YoY
Germany €12.2bn €4.4bn -3.2%
UK €7.0bn €1.6bn +2.3%
Other Europe €5.7bn €1.5bn +3.5%
Türkiye €3.1bn €842m +30.7%
Africa €7.8bn €2.6bn +5.0%
Common Functions €1.8bn €45m -2.5%
Eliminations €-189m -16.7%

Top-segment revenue concentration: 32.5% · Segment totals reconcile to the group P&L

Strategic KPIs

5 flagship metrics · 9 supporting

Organic service revenue growth
5.1%
-18.3% YoY
Adjusted EBITDAaL
10932 £m
-0.8% YoY
Adjusted free cash flow
2548 £m
-2.0% YoY
Group service revenue
30758 £m
+2.8% YoY
Pre-tax ROCE
7.0%
-2.8% YoY
+ Show 9 supporting KPIs
Group revenue
37448
+2.0% YoY
Operating (loss)/profit
-411
-111.2% YoY
Net debt
22397
-32.6% YoY
Total dividend per share
4.5
-50.0% YoY
Net debt to Adjusted EBITDAaL leverage ratio
2.0
Employee engagement index
75%
0.0% YoY
Shared operations NPS
81%
-4.7% YoY
Mobile customers (Europe)
96
Mobile customers (Africa)
161

Capital structure

Debt, cover, and dividend posture

Net debt
£22.4bn
Interest cover
-0.21×
Drawn debt
£53.1bn
Dividend prior year
£2.4bn

Management questions · Open inquiry

What management would need to answer next

Generated by the AI from the disclosure gaps it detected. Hover or tap each card to surface the underlying evidence that triggered the question.

Verification gaps

What the filings don't disclose

High-trust analysis names its own blind spots. These are metrics the AI looked for and couldn't find — anything material to the verdict needs management or independent verification.

Currency labels are inconsistent across agent findings — some figures are cited in euros, others in pounds sterling, with no explicit reconciliation of exchange rate assumptions used; readers should verify all figures are drawn from the same base currency before comparing segments.

07 · Documents

The filing trail

100 filings · Companies House

Filing distribution

SH03
55%
55
SH04
27%
27
SH01
6
SH05
3
AP01
2
TM01
2
AA
1
CH01
1
CS01
1
RESOLUTIONS
1

Latest filings

2026-04-27 SH03 Capital return purchase own shares treasury capital date
2026-04-27 SH04 Capital sale or transfer treasury shares with date currency capital figure
2026-04-16 SH05 Capital cancellation treasury shares with date currency capital figure
2026-04-16 SH04 Capital sale or transfer treasury shares with date currency capital figure
2026-03-31 SH03 Capital return purchase own shares treasury capital date
2026-03-31 SH03 Capital return purchase own shares treasury capital date
2026-03-31 SH03 Capital return purchase own shares treasury capital date
2026-03-31 SH03 Capital return purchase own shares treasury capital date
2026-03-31 SH03 Capital return purchase own shares treasury capital date
2026-03-31 SH04 Capital sale or transfer treasury shares with date currency capital figure
2026-03-10 SH04 Capital sale or transfer treasury shares with date currency capital figure
2026-02-24 SH03 Capital return purchase own shares treasury capital date

Catalyst timeline

Filing pattern + upcoming windows

100 filings · 2025 → 2026
Accounts Officers Capital Resolutions Other
2025 2026 2027 Accounts due Confirmation due
2026Annual accounts

Next annual accounts due

Due at Companies House by 2026-09-30 for the period ending 2026-03-31.

2026Confirmation

Next confirmation statement due

Annual confirmation due by 2026-08-29 (made up to 2026-08-15).

Final chapter — The verdict

The Verdict

57 MODERATE RISK
Verif-AI Synthesis

Moderate Risk

£11bn in the tank and £37bn of revenue, but a £1.5bn loss and shrinking equity mean the group is in repair mode, not growth mode.

FY2025 accounts

Signal Radar

How the score breaks down

Financial completeness 55/100
Operational disclosure 72/100
Compliance signals 50/100
Data confidence 70/100

Decisive findings

What decided this verdict

The hard-hit facts that drove the score. Full breakdown — chapters, between-the-lines, all specialist findings — sits on AI Insights.

01

Germany profit fell over 12% — a big drop for the group's top earner

Germany Adjusted EBITDAaL fell from €5,017m (FY2024) to €4,384m (FY2025), a fall of €633m or 12.6%. Germany is the single largest profit contributor.

Why it matters: A double-digit profit drop in the biggest segment means the group's earnings engine is under real stress, making the overall group profit outlook weaker.

p.6

02

Group operating result swung from a big profit to a loss

Group operating (loss)/profit moved from a profit of €3,665m in FY2024 to a loss of €411m in FY2025. FY2023 was €14,451m profit (which included large disposal gains).

Why it matters: The group swung to an operating loss in FY2025 mainly due to impairment charges of €4,515m, meaning the business as a whole made no money from operations after write-downs.

p.6

03

Interest cover is deeply negative — earnings do not cover interest

Operating loss was €411m and finance costs were €1,931m, giving an interest cover ratio of roughly -0.2x.

Why it matters: The company is not earning enough from operations to pay its interest bill, which means it relies on asset sales or reserves to service its debt.

p.1, p.9

09 · Verification

How we know

100 filings · 13 directors · — pages

What we read

Companies House filings

Total filings 100 2025 → 2026
Accounts filings 1 audited financial statements
Officer events 5 appointments + terminations
Capital events 91 share allotments + buybacks

Who we cross-checked

UK director appointment network

Directors verified 13 incl. 1 corporate officer
Records cross-referenced 27.8m UK appointments dataset
Avg failure rate 0.0% across prior appointments
Phoenix scan 0 directors flagged

Screening status

Independent checks completed

No critical risk flagsNo kill switches fired Sanctions check · ClearFCDO sanctions screen Politically-exposed persons · None foundPEP screen · 0 hits Status · Active

Steps we ran

How the report was assembled

Pages read PDF pages analysed
Steps run 0 0 failed · 0 succeeded
AI checks 3 independent reviews
Years analysed 8 audited filings trended

Each step in detail

segmental strategic kpis capital structure

Limits and caveats

What this report doesn't claim

01

Peer benchmarks

No sector-cohort comparison was generated for this filing — the benchmarking pipeline either skipped this SIC code or this report predates that block.

02

Persons with significant control

No PSCs are recorded against this entity — typical for listed PLCs (widely held by institutional investors) and for dormant / micro-entity filings.

Plain-English glossary · 10 terms
Net Assets
What the company is worth on paper — total assets minus everything it owes.
In this filing: Vodafone's net assets fell from £61bn to £53.9bn in FY2025, a £7.1bn drop driven by a £3.7bn after-tax loss.
Pre-Tax Profit (PBT)
What the company earned before paying its tax bill — the clearest single measure of trading performance.
In this filing: Vodafone swung from a £1.6bn PBT in FY2024 to a -£1.5bn loss in FY2025, a £3.1bn reversal.
Gross Profit
Revenue minus the direct cost of delivering the service or product — what's left before overheads, interest and tax.
In this filing: Gross profit held at £12.5bn (33% of revenue), suggesting the loss originated from costs below this line, not from pricing pressure.
Current Liabilities
Bills and debts the company needs to pay within the next 12 months.
In this filing: Vodafone's current liabilities are £22.8bn — large in absolute terms, but broadly unchanged year-on-year and well below the £11bn cash pile plus £15.8bn of debtors.
Debtor Days
The average number of days customers take to pay their bills.
In this filing: At 32 days, Vodafone collects from customers relatively quickly, reducing the risk of cash getting stuck in unpaid invoices.
Creditor Days
The average number of days the company takes to pay its own suppliers.
In this filing: A negative creditor days figure of -60 days here reflects the accounting construction of the calculation and the size of trade creditor balances relative to cost of sales.
Working Capital Gap
The gap between when you pay your suppliers and when your customers pay you — you need cash to bridge it.
In this filing: Vodafone's 92-day working capital gap means it needs around £9.4bn to keep the cash cycle running smoothly.
Long-Term Liabilities
Debts and obligations due more than 12 months away — typically bonds, loans and pension obligations.
In this filing: Vodafone's long-term liabilities are £51.9bn — down from a peak of £72.2bn in FY2020 as the group has been paying down debt.
Shareholders' Funds
The total amount that technically belongs to shareholders — what would be left after paying all debts.
In this filing: Shareholders' funds fell from £60.0bn to £52.7bn in FY2025, eroded by the £3.7bn after-tax loss.
Asset Fragility
The share of total assets made up of intangibles (like brand value or spectrum licences) and lease assets — things that are hard to sell if the business hits trouble.
In this filing: 26.4% of Vodafone's total assets are intangible or lease-based — significant for a telecoms group where spectrum licences and network leases are core to the business.