Vodafone Online Monitor, 120912

CLIENT: VODAFONE CSR DIRECT MEDIUM: MALTASTAR.COM DATE: 11 SEPTEMBER 2012

Vodafone Malta Foundation supports LAND

Tuesday, 11 Sep 2012, 06:38

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The Vodafone Malta Foundation supported a group of people who form part of the Living

Ability not Disability (LAND) organization. The Maltese youths joined another 350 youths

from all over the world. The annual Summer Camp was held in August in Balatonfoldvar,

Hungary.

“We are very pleased to be supporting such initiatives and it helps in knowing that we are raising

much needed awareness on the LAND organisation,” said Roberta Pace, from Vodafone Malta

Foundation. “Through these funds we will endeavor to ensure that more and more youths with

disabilities have the opportunity to enjoy the joy and benefits of camps abroad and to be in touch

with different people from different cultural backgrounds.”

The fun filled Summer camp consisted of a week full of activities, sports, games and cultural

tours, including beach games, board games, swimming in Lake Balaton, pottery and sweets

decorating. Youths were thrilled when taken on excursions, with the first one being a visit to the

CLIENT: VODAFONE CSR DIRECT MEDIUM: MALTASTAR.COM DATE: 11 SEPTEMBER 2012

Formula 1 track in Hungary. Among all the activities were an International night, a visit to the Zoo

and the Lazar Equestrian Park where they watched one of the amazing shows and ate various

typical Hungarian dishes. The Malta team also took a boat trip to some interesting sightseeing

areas and visited the Annagora Aquapark. Every evening a themed disco was organized for the

youths and the Summer Camp closed off with a visit to Budapest by night.

Daniela Schembri, President of LAND said, “I must say that we have learnt and grew a lot from

these experiences and together we made the camp a successful one. The organization of the

whole event was great and everyone was really helpful. This amazing camp would not have been

possible without the help of relatives, assistants and sponsors such as the Vodafone Malta

Foundation. This event gave us the possibility to interact with different people from around the

world and everyone participated .”

Living Ability Not Disability was established in 2002 with the objectives to educate, enhance the

independence of persons with a physical disability and promote inclusion through mainstream

socialization. LAND is the only organization in Malta that embraces persons with physical

disability and non-disabled persons in order to interact together during activities thus developing

friendships whilst creating an awareness of social inclusion in all spheres of life.

CLIENT: VODAFONE CSR DIRECT MEDIUM: GOZONEWS.COM DATE: 10 SEPTEMBER 2012

Vodafone Foundation supports Living Ability not Disability Published on Monday, 10, September, 2012 at 17:27 in Malta News | No Comments

The Vodafone Malta Foundation supported a group of people who form part of the Living Ability not Disability

(LAND) organisation. The Maltese youths joined another 350 youths from all over the world. The annual

Summer Camp was held in August in Balatonfoldvar, Hungary.

“We are very pleased to be supporting such initiatives and it helps in knowing that we are raising much needed

awareness on the LAND organisation,” said Roberta Pace, from Vodafone Malta Foundation. “Through these

funds we will endeavor to ensure that more and more youths with disabilities have the opportunity to enjoy the

joy and benefits of camps abroad and to be in touch with different people from different cultural backgrounds.”

CLIENT: VODAFONE CSR DIRECT MEDIUM: GOZONEWS.COM DATE: 10 SEPTEMBER 2012

The fun filled Summer camp consisted of a week full of activities, sports, games and cultural tours, including

beach games, board games, swimming in Lake Balaton, pottery and sweets decorating. Youths were thrilled

when taken on excursions, with the first one being a visit to the Formula 1 track in Hungary.

Among all the activities were an International night, a visit to the Zoo and the Lazar Equestrian Park where they

watched one of the amazing shows and ate various typical Hungarian dishes. The Malta team also took a boat

trip to some interesting sightseeing areas and visited the Annagora Aquapark. Every evening a themed disco was

organised for the youths and the Summer Camp closed off with a visit to Budapest by night.

Daniela Schembri, President of LAND said, “I must say that we have learnt and grew a lot from these

experiences and together we made the camp a successful one. The organization of the whole event was great and

everyone was really helpful. This amazing camp would not have been possible without the help of relatives,

assistants and sponsors such as the Vodafone Malta Foundation. This event gave us the possibility to interact

with different people from around the world and everyone participated .”

Living Ability Not Disability was established in 2002 with the objectives to educate, enhance the independence

of persons with a physical disability and promote inclusion through mainstream socialisation. LAND is the only

organisation in Malta that embraces persons with physical disability and non-disabled persons in order to interact

together during activities thus developing friendships whilst creating an awareness of social inclusion in all

spheres of life.

Photograph Daniela Schembri, President of LAND.

CLIENT: VODAFONE CSR DIRECT MEDIUM: JOSANNECASSAR.COM DATE: 11 SEPTEMBER 2012

Vodafone Malta Foundation supports LAND Above: Daniela Schembri, President of LAND

The Vodafone Malta Foundation supported a group of people who form part of the Living Ability not Disability (LAND) organization. The Maltese youths joined another 350 youths from all over the world. The annual Summer Camp was held in August in Balatonfoldvar, Hungary.

“We are very pleased to be supporting such initiatives and it helps in knowing that we are raising much needed awareness on the LAND organisation,” said Roberta Pace, from Vodafone Malta Foundation. “Through these funds we will endeavor to ensure that more and more youths with disabilities have the opportunity to enjoy the joy and benefits of camps abroad and to be in touch with different people from different cultural backgrounds.”

The fun filled Summer camp consisted of a week full of activities, sports, games and cultural tours, including beach games, board games, swimming in Lake Balaton, pottery and sweets decorating. Youths were thrilled when taken on excursions, with the first one being a visit to the Formula 1 track in Hungary. Among all the activities were an International night, a visit to the Zoo and the Lazar Equestrian Park where they watched one of the amazing shows and ate various typical Hungarian dishes. The Malta team also took a boat trip to some interesting sightseeing areas and visited the Annagora Aquapark. Every evening a themed disco was organized for the youths and the Summer Camp closed off with a visit to Budapest by night.

CLIENT: VODAFONE CSR DIRECT MEDIUM: JOSANNECASSAR.COM DATE: 11 SEPTEMBER 2012

Daniela Schembri, President of LAND said, “I must say that we have learnt and grew a lot from these experiences and together we made the camp a successful one. The organization of the whole event was great and everyone was really helpful. This amazing camp would not have been possible without the help of relatives, assistants and sponsors such as the Vodafone Malta Foundation. This event gave us the possibility to interact with different people from around the world and everyone participated .”

Living Ability Not Disability was established in 2002 with the objectives to educate, enhance the independence of persons with a physical disability and promote inclusion through mainstream socialization. LAND is the only organization in Malta that embraces persons with physical disability and non-disabled persons in order to interact together during activities thus developing friendships whilst creating an awareness of social inclusion in all spheres of life.

Mary Jo Abela, on of the helpers together with Daniela Schembri

CLIENT: GO DIRECT MEDIUM: MALTASTAR.COM DATE: 11 SEPTEMBER 2012

GO plc back in the black

Tuesday, 11 Sep 2012, 21:44

Recent comments

Il-Maltin isalvaw il-Go u nisperaw ...

GO plc delivered a positive performance in the six months ending on 30 June 2012, with

the Group returning to profitability.

In a statement the company said that during the first six months of the current financial year, the

Group registered an operating profit of €11.4 million, an increase of €2.1 million over 2011.

Furthermore, GO also recognised a gain of €11.4 million following the sale of property in Qawra.

Whilst the results of 2011 had been negatively impacted by the impairment of the Company’s

investment in Forthnet through Forgendo, no material impairment was recognised on this

investment during the first six months of this year. GO has therefore reported a profit, before tax,

of €20.4 million, compared to a loss of €14.1 million in the comparative period of January to June

2011.


The results for the six month period ended June 2012 and the comparative period were both

negatively impacted by voluntary retirement costs and pension obligations, items considered to

be of an unusual nature, size or incidence whilst during the six month period ending on 30 June

2012, GO secured the recovery of a long outstanding receivable not attributable to trading

activities.

The Group’s revenue amounted to €63.6 million, compared to €65.2 million in 2011, representing

a decline of 2.4%, which is essentially the result of a combination of lower retail revenues

reflecting intense competition across all product lines and lower wholesale revenues attributable

to a reduction in mobile termination rates as mandated by the Malta Communications Authority.

Whilst the Group retains a strong client base, a substantial portion of which through bundled

services, average revenue per user (ARPU) of most products is under pressure, resulting in lower

revenues from most products when compared to 2011.

The Group’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and before

costs of an unusual nature, size or incidence, amounted to €24.5 million, as against €26.1 million

for the comparable period. Cash generation remains healthy and, as at 30 June 2012, the Group

held cash and cash equivalents of €12.4 million, an increase of €5 million over the level reported

as at 31 December 2011.

Recently-appointed Yiannos Michaelides, Chief Executive Officer of GO plc, said: “In spite of the

challenges faced by the industry, in particular competitive and regulatory pressure, GO has

delivered positive and encouraging results and continues to generate healthy cash flows.

"Whilst the Group experienced marginal loss in fixed-line voice connections, it has returned to

growing its broadband and TV client base, whilst our mobile client base remains stable. The

Group’s ongoing investments in the mobile core and access infrastructures will continue to

strengthen the Group’s position in this important segment. During the first half of 2012, the Group

continued to pursue the rightsizing of its operations, and headcount levels are just below 900.

These reductions become possible as the Group improves business processes which help

improve response time to client needs and further contain costs.’’


Deepak Padmanabhan, GO’s Chairman, commented: “The Group trusts that all shareholders will

welcome the positive performance and our return to profitability as reported in the interim results.

The Group believes that its stated strategy will allow it to remain the service provider of choice

for the majority of customers in Malta, ensuring long term sustainability of its operations in this

market. Of course, our investment in Forthnet, through Forgendo, in Greece, also remains on the

agenda. As previously stated, the bulk of the Greek investment write-downs have now been taken

into account."

CLIENT: GO DIRECT MEDIUM: MALTATODAY.COM DATE: 11 SEPTEMBER 2012

Business Tuesday 11 September 2012 - 16:42

GO plc posts €20.4 million interim profit Group’s CEO announces company’s interim results – a profit before tax reaching €20.4 million, compared to a loss of €14.1m in the corresponding 2011 period.

GO’s Chief Executive Officer Yiannos Michaelides. Duncan Barry

Announcing GO plc's interim results, chief executive officer Yiannos Michaelides said the

telecommunications firm had maintained robust levels of revenues, profitability and cash

generation despite adverse market conditions.

"GO has delivered positive and encouraging results and continues to generate healthy cash flows.

This is a result of the Group's investment programme which has helped improve the quality of

existing services while widening its portfolio," the Group's CEO said.

Michaelides officially started his role as CEO on September 7.

"The local telecom industry is highly competitive as industry players are giving up more and more

value. This is negatively impacting average revenue per user (ARPU) levels," he said.


On the company's fixed line voice market share, the CEO said: "GO currently has 73% of the fixed

market share registering 180,018 users till end June this year when compared to 181,830

registered till end December last year".

Michaelides said that GO had registered an "increase" on superfast internet broadband, with

96,899 users registered till end June this year, compared to 95,720 registered till end December

2011.

"tThrough free upgrade offers, Go has helped customers improve their internet broadband speed

drastically. GO is constantly providing incentives like mobile phone give-aways to help incentivise

its customers to change to internet telephony."

Deepak Padmanabhan, GO's Chairman, said: "We are very happy with this year's results as the

group returned to profit. "We were also proud to announce the launch of our 3G network together

with the introduction of a very fast broadband infrastructure."

On Forthnet suffering from lower revenues, the Group's chairman said: "Naturally, our

investment in Forthnet, through Forgendo, in Greece remains on our agenda. As previously

stated, the bulk of the Greek investment write-downs have now been taken into account."

Looking forward, Padmanabhan believes that the group's priority is to evaluate what is in the

group's shareholders' best interest with regards to the business while also emphasising that "we

shall maintain a clear line of communication with all our stakeholders on this issue."

Shareholders in GO plc had presented six resolutions to challenge the Dubai-owned telecoms

provider to give explanations on company losses in Greek subsidiary Forthnet, and the

controversial property valuations carried out in respect of land in Qawra and the 11 properties

consisting of the telephone exchanges.

GO �currently controls 50% of the share capital of its jointly-controlled entity, Forgendo

Limited, whose activity is that of holding investments in its associated undertaking, Hellenic


Company for Telecommunications and Telematic Applications S.A. (Forthnet), a Greek company

listed on the Athens Stock Exchange.

CLIENT: GO DIRECT MEDIUM: DI-VE.COM DATE: 12 SEPTEMBER 2012

Business & Money

Go is looking ahead

Article By: Annette Vella [email protected]

In the coming months, Go plc will be introducing the next generation of homepacks as announced by the Chief Executive Officer Yiannos Michaelides saying that the present homepacks have proved to be very successful and popular among the company’s clients.

CLIENT: GO DIRECT MEDIUM: DI-VE.COM DATE: 12 SEPTEMBER 2012

Speaking at the presentation of the interim financial results for the six months until June, Mr Michaelides did not provide more information about the new homepacks saying only that they will address the needs of clients in today’s modern life.

The CEO of Go plc said that Go will aim to continue to defend it lead in multiplay, to seek growth in the fixed and mobile sector, to improve its operational facility as well as develop new business.

Yiannos Michaelides said that Go will defend its position in the area of multiplay by providing segmented value propositions, improving the customer’s experience in the sector and by continuing to position its brand.

He said that company will continue with its program to reduce the number of employees so that it become a more lean entity, it will aim for more assets rationalisation and process optimisation.

On Tuesday, Go plc announced a profit before tax of €20.4 million for the six months until June 2012, compared to a loss of €14.1 million in the same period last year.

Presently, the company is considering whether or not it will participate in the forthcoming €30 million Forthnet rights issue in Greece. A final decision will be taken by its Board of Directors before the end of September. Forthnet is a Greek telecoms company in which GO has significant shareholding.

Lack of participation in the rights issue will mean that Go’s shareholding in the company will decrease to 2.43% from the present 20.64%.

CLIENT: GO DIRECT MEDIUM: GOZONEWS.COM DATE: 11 SEPTEMBER 2012

GO announces positive interim results with €20.4m profit Published on Tuesday, 11, September, 2012 at 18:18 in Malta News | No Comments

GO announced today that it had delivered a positive performance in the six months ending on 30 June 2012, with

the Group returning to profitability. Group profit before tax reaches €20.4 million, compared to a loss of €14.1

million in the comparative period in 2011

During the first six months of the current financial year, the Group said that it registered an operating profit of

€11.4 million, an increase of €2.1 million over 2011. Furthermore, “GO also recognised a gain of €11.4 million

following the sale of property in Qawra.”

The company statement said that “whilst the results of 2011 had been negatively impacted by the impairment of

the Company’s investment in Forthnet through Forgendo, no material impairment was recognised on this

investment during the first six months of this year. GO has therefore reported a profit, before tax, of €20.4

million, compared to a loss of €14.1 million in the comparative period of January to June 2011.


“The results for the six month period ended June 2012 and the comparative period were both negatively impacted

by voluntary retirement costs and pension obligations, items considered to be of an unusual nature, size or

incidence whilst during the six month period ending on 30 June 2012, GO secured the recovery of a long

outstanding receivable not attributable to trading activities.

“The removal of the combined impact of these exceptional items resulted in a normalised operating profit of

€10.5 million in 2012 compared to €12.4 million registered in the comparative period. The deterioration in the

operating performance of the Group is substantially due to lower revenues, which were not compensated for by a

decrease in costs.

“The Group’s revenue amounted to €63.6 million, compared to €65.2 million in 2011, representing a decline of

2.4%, which is essentially the result of a combination of lower retail revenues reflecting intense competition

across all product lines and lower wholesale revenues attributable to a reduction in mobile termination rates as

mandated by the Malta Communications Authority.

“Whilst the Group retains a strong client base, a substantial portion of which through bundled services, average

revenue per user (ARPU) of most products is under pressure, resulting in lower revenues from most products

when compared to 2011. It is therefore encouraging to highlight the continued growth in TV services and an ever

increasing proportion of clients opting for Homepack, the Group’s highly successful bundle of services aimed at

satisfying all telecommunication needs of a household.

“Cost of sales and administration costs excluding exceptional costs of an unusual nature, size or incidence

amounted to €53.6 million, which represent a marginal increase of €0.3 million over the comparative period.

Whilst the Group successfully pursued cost reductions in various areas, it also experienced increased incidence

of costs directly related to sales activity and, exceptionally, in the operation of its networks as, throughout the

period under review, the Group’s mobile business was migrating to new state of the art technology resulting in a

one-time only substantial increase in costs.

“The Group’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and before costs of an

unusual nature, size or incidence, amounted to €24.5 million, as against €26.1 million for the comparable period.

Cash generation remains healthy and, as at 30 June 2012, the Group held cash and cash equivalents of €12.4

million, an increase of €5 million over the level reported as at 31 December 2011.”

Yiannos Michaelides, Chief Executive Officer of GO, said: “In spite of the challenges faced by the industry, in

particular competitive and regulatory pressure, GO has delivered positive and encouraging results and continues

to generate healthy cash flows. There is no doubt that this is a result of the Group’s investment programme which

has allowed it to improve the quality of existing services and widen its product portfolio.


“Whilst the Group experienced marginal loss in fixed-line voice connections, it has returned to growing its

broadband and TV client base, whilst our mobile client base remains stable. The Group’s ongoing investments in

the mobile core and access infrastructures will continue to strengthen the Group’s position in this important

segment. During the first half of 2012, the Group continued to pursue the rightsizing of its operations, and

headcount levels are just below 900. These reductions become possible as the Group improves business

processes which help improve response time to client needs and further contain costs.”

Deepak Padmanabhan, GO’s Chairman, commented, “The Group trusts that all shareholders will welcome the

positive performance and our return to profitability as reported in the interim results. The Group believes that its

stated strategy will allow it to remain the service provider of choice for the majority of customers in Malta,

ensuring long term sustainability of its operations in this market.

“Of course, our investment in Forthnet, through Forgendo, in Greece, also remains on the agenda. As previously

stated, the bulk of the Greek investment write-downs have now been taken into account.

“Going forward, we believe that our priority is now to evaluate what is in our shareholders’ best interest with

regards to this business. We shall also endeavour to maintain clear lines of communication with all stakeholders

on this matter.”

Photo – From left: Edmond Brincat, GO’s Chief Financial Officer, Deepak Padmanabhan, GO’s Chairman and

Yiannos Michaelides, Chief Executive Officer at GO.

CLIENT: GO DIRECT SOURCE: INDEPENDENT.COM DATE: 12 SEPTEMBER 2012

GO announces positive interim results Article published on 12 September 2012

GO yesterday announced it had delivered a positive performance in the six months ending on 30 June, with the group returning to profitability.

During the first six months of the current financial year, the group registered an operating profit of €11.4 million, an increase of €2.1 million over 2011. Furthermore, GO also made a gain of €11.4 million following the sale of property in Qawra.

Whilst the results of 2011 had been negatively impacted by the impairment of the company’s investment in Forthnet through Forgendo, no material impairment was recognised on the investment during the first six months of the year. GO has therefore reported a profit before tax of €20.4 million, compared to a loss of €14.4 million in the comparative period of January till June 2011.

The results of the six-month period ended June 2012 and the comparative period were both negatively impacted by voluntary retirement costs and pension obligations, items considered to be of unusual nature, size of incidence whilst during the six-month period ending on 30 June, 2012, GO secured the recovery of a long-outstanding receivable not attributable to trading activities.

The removal of the combined impact of these exceptional items resulted in a normalised operating profit of €10.5 million in 2012 compared to €12.4 million registered in the comparative period. The deterioration in the operating performance of the group is substantially due to lower revenues, which were not compensated by a decrease in costs.

The group’s revenue amounted to €63.6 million, compared to €65.2 million in 2011, representing a decline of 2.4%, which is essentially the result of a combination of lower retail revenues reflecting intense competition across all product lines and lower wholesale revenues attributable to a reduction in mobile termination rates as mandated by the Malta Communications Authority.

Whilst the group retains a strong client base, a substantial portion of which through bundled services, average revenue per user (ARPU) of most products is under pressure, resulting in lower revenues from most products when compared to 2011.

It is therefore encouraging to highlight the continued growth in TV services and an ever increasing proportion of clients opting for Homepack, the group’s highly successful bundle of services aimed at satisfying all telecommunication needs of a household.

Cost of sales and administration costs excluding exceptional costs of an unusual nature, size or incidence amounted to €53.6 million, which represent a marginal increase of €0.3 million over the

CLIENT: GO DIRECT SOURCE: INDEPENDENT.COM DATE: 12 SEPTEMBER 2012

comparative period. Whilst the group successfully pursued cost reductions in various areas, it also experienced increased incidence of costs directly related to sales activity and, exceptionally, in the operation of its networks as, throughout the period under review, the group’s mobile business was migrating to the new state-of-the-art technology resulting in a one-time only substantial increase in costs.

The group’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and before costs of an unusual nature, size or incidence, amounted to €24.5 million, as against €26.1 million for the comparable period. Cash generation remains healthy and, as at 30 June 2012, the group held cash and cash equivalents of €12.4 million, an increase of €5 million over the level reported as at 31 December, 2011.

CLIENT: GO DIRECT MEDIUM: INEWS.COM DATE: 11 SEPTEMBER 2012

GO taqla' €20 miljun... l-art tal-Qawra b'sehem kbir 17:37 | 11.09.2012

Matul l-ewwel sitt xhur tas-sena, il-kumpanija GO irreġistrat qliegħ qabel it-taxxa ta' €20.4 miljun. Dan ir-riżultat b'saħħtu jirrifletti wkoll id-dħul ta' darba ta' €11.4 miljun wara l-bejgħ tal-art tal-Qawra, qalet il-kumpanija GO.

Yiannos Michaelides, Kap Eżekuttiv ta' GO plc qal li: “Minkejja l-isfidi li din l-industrija qed tiffaċċja, b'mod partikolari minn pressjoni kompetittiva u regulatorja, GO għadha kemm ħabbret riżultati pożittivi u inkoraġġanti, filwaqt li kompliet tiġġenera livell sostanzjali ta' flus mill-operat tagħha. Dan hu riżultat tal-programm ta' investimenti tal-Grupp, li għen biex inkomplu ntejjbu l-kwalità tas-servizz eżistenti u nkomplu nżidu mal-prodott li qed noffru.”

Michaelides żied jgħid li “Filwaqt li l-grupp kellu tnaqqis marġinali fin-numru ta' konnessjonijiet ta' linji fissi, reġgħa beda jżid in-numru ta' klijenti tal-internet u tat-TV. Fl-istess waqt, in-numru ta' klijenti tal-mowbajl baqa' stabbli. L-investiment li qed jagħmel il-grupp fil-qasam tal-mowbajl se jkomplu jsaħħu l-qagħda tal-grupp f'dan is-settur importanti. Matul l-ewwel nofs tal-2012, il-grupp kompla bl-aġġustament tal-operat tiegħu li wassal biex in-numru ta' impjegati fil-preżent hu ftit inqas minn 900 persuna. Dan it-tnaqqis seta' jsir hekk kif il-Grupp kompla jtejjeb il-proċessi kummerċjali tiegħu li permezz tagħhom kompla itejjeb ir-rispons tiegħu skont il-ħtiġijiet tal-klijenti, filwaqt li żamm kontroll akbar fuq l-ispejjeż.”

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