Vodafone (LON:VOD) has announced plans to spin off its European tower infrastructure into a new company called TowerCo by May 2020, which may include an IPO or minority stake sale depending on market conditions.
The portfolio includes 61,700 towers in 10 markets and could generate annual revenue and earnings of around €1.7bn and €900m, respectively, according to Vodafone's statement. CEO Nick Read said there was a “substantial opportunity to unlock value for shareholders.” The proceeds raised will be used to pay down debt. In a separate announcement, Vodafone reiterated its full year guidance after saying trading was in line with management expectations in the first quarter.
In other news, Mothercare reported this Friday that pretax profit for the full year will now be “broadly comparable” to the previous year after saying gross margin improvements in the UK would take longer than previously anticipated. The speciality retailer, which is planning to spin off its UK business, said the medium-term outlook for the British market would continue to be uncertain and volatile. Total UK Sales slumped 23.2% in the 15-weeks to July 13, while group sales for the period were down 9.2%.
Rightmove has reported a 10% increase in both first-half revenue and operating profit to £143.9m and £108.2m, respectively. The UK property website said the average revenue per advertiser (ARPA) grew more strongly than anticipated, up £90 from the same period a year ago. They did, however, say that a 4.6% drop in sale transactions, year-to-date, had forced some agents to leave the industry.
And finally, publisher Pearson has reported a 2% increase in underlying revenue for the six months through June to £1.8bn and a 30% jump in adjusted underlying operating profit to £144m. CEO John Fallon said the company was starting to benefit from their shift to digital and was now on track to “at least stabilize” revenue this year and return to top line growth from 2020.