Telecommunication giant Vodafone Group Plc. (VOD, VOD.L) reported that profit before taxation for the year ended 31 March 2013 declined to 3.255 billion pounds from 9.549 billion pounds in the prior year.
Profit attributable to equity shareholders for the year plunged to 429 million pounds from the previous year's 6.957 billion pounds, with earnings per share decreasing to 0.87 pence from 13.65 pence last year.
Basic earnings per share was 0.87 pence, compared to 13.74 pence last year , a decrease of 93.7% year-on-year, driven by the 7.7 billion pounds impairment charge recorded in the latest year partially offset by the gain on acquisition of CWW.
Adjusted earnings per share was up 5.0% at 15.65 pence, driven by growth in adjusted operating profit and a lower share count.
Annual revenue declined to 44.44 billion pounds from last year's 46.42 billion pounds.
The company said that its Board recommended a final dividend per share of 6.92 pence, to give total ordinary dividends per share for the year of 10.19 pence, up 7.0% year-on-year. The ex-dividend date for the final dividend is 12 June 2013 for ordinary shareholders, the record date is 14 June 2013 and the dividend is payable on7 August2013.
The company expects adjusted operating profit for the 2014 financial year to be in the range of 12.0 billion pounds to 12.8 billion pounds.
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