People, culture and governance Human and intellectual capital
The technical and managerial skills, productivity and wellbeing of our
people – coupled with a company culture and governance systems that
foster innovation and compliance – are critical to our long-term success.
Investing in our people is one of the most significant costs to our business.
Key inputs
7 587 employees.
Trusted employee relations.
Sound compliance and governance systems.
Technical and managerial skills.
Activities to sustain value
Providing competitive remuneration and personal development opportunities.
Investing in technical skills and leadership development, employee wellness and safety.
Implementation of various health and safety initiatives.
Promoting employee diversity to address inequalities and improve customer appreciation.
Outcomes (2017)
R5.5 billion1 invested in wages and benefits.
R277 million invested in employee training.
75% black and 43% female representation in senior management.
1 contractor fatality.
Quality relationships with key stakeholders Social and relationship capital
A positive reputation and quality relationship with customers, regulators,
investors, suppliers and communities is the foundation of our ability to
generate revenue. Maintaining quality relationships across all stakeholders
may require trade-offs as we seek to address sometimes competing
stakeholder interests.
Key inputs
66.8 million customers.
Informed engagement
with regulators.
Investor confidence.
Positive supplier
relationship.
Trusted brand.
Activities to sustain value
Differentiating our customer offering through network
quality, positive customer experience and tailored products
and services.
Engaging actively with regulators, pursuing full compliance
and driving a societal contribution.
Ensuring transparent investor communication.
Delivering social value through enhanced connectivity and
services in inclusive finance, education and health.
Outcomes (2017)
17 point lead in net promoter score (NPS) in South Africa.
R16.1 billion Group total cash contribution to public finances.
R24 billion weighted spend with BBBEE suppliers.
12.9 million M-Pesa customers.
Increased billing complaints as a result of challenges implementing new billing system.
Lost customers due to customer registration requirements in some countries.
Continuing engagement with government and regulators on regulatory and policy issues.
Network and IT infrastructure Manufactured capital
Our network infrastructure, data centres, distribution infrastructure and
software applications are an important source of competitive differentiation.
Investing in building and maintaining this infrastructure requires significant
financial capital, and appropriate levels of human and intellectual capital.
Key inputs
19 192 base station sites.
South Africa 92.1%,
International 86.0%
self-provided fibre and
microwave connections.
R11.3 billion capital
expenditure for the year,
R37.5 billion in the
past three years.
Activities to sustain value
Maintaining our network leadership through targeted
investment.
Enabling 2G, 3G and 4G on same network equipment
through radio access network modernisation programmes.
Progressing with customer billing transformation and
migration to our new M-Pesa platform.
Developing systems and processes to enable big data analytics.
Outcomes (2017)
Rated first for network quality three out of five of our markets in network NPS.
R11.3 billion invested in strengthening network.
19 192 new sites added this year.
Improvements in customer experience voice and data KPIs across all operations.
Slower than anticipated fibre rollout.
Financial capital Financial capital – which includes shareholders’ equity, debt and
reinvested capital – is a critical input in executing our business activities and
in generating, accessing and deploying other forms of capital. Balancing the
short-term interests of investors with longer term growth objectives, and
with some of the interests of other stakeholder groups, remains an
important objective.
Key inputs
R226 billion market capitalisation.
0.7 times net debt to EBITDA ratio to execute growth.
R11.4 billion free cash flow.
R777 million interest earned.
Activities to sustain value
Optimising capital allocation.
Diversifying revenue growth areas.
Driving ‘Fit for growth’ cost programme.
Maintaining strong corporate governance structures and finance team.
Purchasing power on network equipment, devices and operating
expenditure through Vodafone Procurement Company.
Outcomes (2017)
Revenue up 1.5% to R81.3 billion.
EBITDA up 2.9% R31.2 billion.
Cash generated from operations: R31.8 billion.
Headline earnings per share: 923 cents.
Total dividend per share declared: 830 cents.
R2.8 billion paid to debt funders in interest.
Weaker International performance due to customer registration requirements.
Natural resources Natural capital
We require natural capital such as land and energy to deploy and operate
our manufactured capital. Accessing these inputs diminishes financial and
natural capital, the impact of which is lowered through energy efficiency
initiatives and site sharing.
Key inputs
501 GWh electricity#.
382 483 kl water#.
3.9 million litres fuel#.
Activities to sustain value
Strong focus on energy efficiency of our network.
Identify opportunities to use communications technology in enabling a low carbon economy.
Recycling handsets and network equipment.
Outcomes (2017)
1.3 GWh energy saved at our buildings in South Africa.
68.5 tonnes of e-waste recycled.
976 solar-operated sites.
683 439 tonnes CO2 emissions (Scope 1, 2 and 3). 18% increase from last year.
#
South Africa only.
1.
Excludes staff expenses of R742 million (2016: R687 million) capitalised against property, plant and equipment. Includes dividends of R44 million
(2016: R41 million) relating to the forfeitable share plan which was offset against the forfeitable share plan reserve.
