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Vodafone – Financials
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements continued
6. Taxation continued
At 31 March 2008, the gross amount and expiry dates of losses available for carry forward are as follows:
Expiring Expiring
within within
5 years 6-10 years Unlimited Total
£m £m £m £m
Losses for which a deferred tax asset is recognised 275 24 901 1,200
Losses for which no deferred tax is recognised 226 332 86,780 87,338
501 356 87,681 88,538
Included above are losses amounting to £1,969 million (2007: £1,938 million) in respect of UK subsidiaries which are only available for offset against future capital gains
and since it is uncertain whether these losses will be utilised, no deferred tax asset has been recognised.
The losses above also include £82,204 million (2007: £41,298 million) that have arisen in overseas holding companies as a result of revaluations of those companies’
investments for local GAAP purposes. Since it is uncertain whether these losses will be utilised, no deferred tax asset has been recognised.
In addition to the losses described above, the Group has potential tax losses of £40,181 million (2007: £34,292 million) in respect of a write down in the value of
investments in Germany. These losses have to date been denied by the German tax authorities. Vodafone is in continuing discussions with them regarding the
availability of the losses. However, the outcome of these discussions and the timing of the resolution are not yet known. The Group has not recognised the availability
of the losses, nor the income statement benefit arising from them, due to this uncertainty. If upon resolution a benefit is recognised, it may impact both the amount
of current income taxes provided since the date of initial deduction and the amount of the benefit from tax losses the Group will recognise. The recognition of these
benefits could affect the overall profitability of the Group in future periods. The £5,889 million increase compared to the position at 31 March 2007 is due to foreign
exchange, as a result of sterling weakening against the euro.
The Group holds provisions in respect of deferred taxation that would arise if temporary differences on investments in subsidiaries, associates and interests in joint
ventures were to be realised after the balance sheet date. No deferred tax liability has been recognised in respect of a further £49,000 million (2007: £34,946 million)
of unremitted earnings of subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures because the Group is in a position to control the timing of the reversal of the temporary difference
and it is probable that such differences will not reverse in the foreseeable future. It is not practicable to estimate the amount of unrecognised deferred tax liabilities
in respect of these unremitted earnings.
7. Equity dividends
2008 2007 2006
£m £m £m
Declared during the financial year:
Final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2007: 4.41 pence per share
(2006: 3.87 pence per share, 2005: 2.16 pence per share) 2,331 2,328 1,386
Interim dividend for the year ended 31 March 2008: 2.49 pence per share
(2007: 2.35 pence per share, 2006: 2.20 pence per share) 1,322 1,238 1,367
3,653 3,566 2,753
Proposed after the balance sheet date and not recognised as a liability:
Final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2008: 5.02 pence per share
(2007: 4.41 pence per share, 2006: 3.87 pence per share) 2,667 2,331 2,328
8. Earnings/(loss) per share
2008 2007 2006
Millions Millions Millions
Weighted average number of shares for basic earnings/(loss) per share 53,019 55,144 62,607
Effect of dilutive potential shares: restricted shares and share options (1) 268 − −
Weighted average number of shares for diluted earnings/(loss) per share 53,287 55,144 62,607
£m £m £m
Earnings/(loss) for basic and diluted earnings per share:
Continuing operations 6,660 (4,932) (17,318)
Discontinued operations (2) − (494) (4,598)
Total 6,660 (5,426) (21,916)
Notes:
(1) In the years ended 31 March 2007 and 2006, 215 million and 183 million shares, respectively, have been excluded from the calculation of diluted loss per share as they are not dilutive.
(2) See note 29 for further information on discontinued operations, including the per share effect of discontinued operations.
102 Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2008