Melbourne Cup

For a list of Melbourne Cup winning horses see List of Melbourne Cup winners. Key Performance Indicator press release for the quarter to 30 June 2005, 25 July 2005. In 2000 it was estimated that 80 percent of the adult Australian population placed a bet on the race that year [2]. ¹ Vodafone Group Plc. In Melbourne and surrounding areas, the race day is a public holiday, but around the country a majority of people watch the race on television and gamble, either through direct betting or participating in workplace cup "sweeps". Vodafone's accounts for the years shown in the table below include a great number of one off transactions, and apart from noting the rapid expansion of the group, no conclusions about underlying trends should be drawn from the figures without examining the accounts in more detail. Raceday fashion has occasionally drawn almost as much attention as the race itself, The miniskirt received worldwide publicity when model Jean Shrimpton wore one on Derby Day during Melbourne Cup week in 1965. Despite the reported losses it is in reality a highly profitable company, and this is reflected in the fact that it is consistently one of the top twenty companies in the world by market capitalisation.

The requirement for elegant hats almost single-handedly keeps Melbourne's milliners in business. However this write off of goodwill is purely an accounting adjustment and does not affect Vodafone's cash position or its ability to pay dividends. 'Fashions On The Field' is a major focus of the day, with substantial prizes awarded for the best-dressed male and female racegoers. As UK GAAP requires goodwill to be written off against the profit and loss account Vodafone has shown large statutory losses since then. For which in 2005 Makybe Diva truly left her mark in history by winning the Cox Plate only 9 days before going on to win the Melbourne Cup. By the end of its key acquisition drive, which ran from 1999 to 2002, Vodafone had more than £100 billion of goodwill on its balance sheet. They regard the Cox Plate, a 2,040 metre Weight for Age race, as a true indication of the best horses in Australia. The following table shows Vodafone's results under UK generally accepted accounting principles (UK GAAP).

Racing purists and "serious" betters dislike the Cup, as the unusually long distance and handicap rules make the result highly unpredictable and allows mediocre horses to win. This is a common practice in the mobile telecommunciations industry. In the past, such weightings were in theory established to give each horse an equal chance of winning the cup, but in recent years the rules have been adjusted to that of a "quality handicap" where superior horses are given less severe weight penalties than would be the case under pure handicap rules. if an operator in which it has a 30% stake has 10 million customers that equals 3 million proportionate Vodafone customers. Older horses are given more weight than younger ones, and weightings are further adjusted according to the horse's previous results. Vodafone also produces proportionate customer number figures on a similar basis, eg. The Melbourne Cup is run as a "handicap", in which the weight of the jockey, and riding gear is adjusted with ballast to a nominated figure. Proportionate turnover is not an official accounting measure and Vodafone's proportionate turnover should be compared with other companies' statutory turnover.

A large rose bowl trophy was presented 1915-1918 and the current loving cup design was introduced in 1919. For example, if a business in which it owns a 45% stake has turnover of £10 billion, that equals £4.5 billion of proportionate turnover for Vodafone. It was a chalice centred on a long base which had a horse at each end. In order to provide additional information on the overall scale and growth trends of its business it publishes "proportionate turnover" figures and these are included in the tables below. The last Melbourne Cup trophy manufactured in England was made for the 1914 event. Vodafone has some large minority stakes, in particular in Verizon Wireless in the United States and SFR in France, which are not included in its consolidated turnover. A silver plated base sporting three silver horses was added in 1888, but in 1891 the prize changed to being a 15 inch high, 24 inch long trophy showing a Victory figure offering an olive wreath to a jockey There were no races 1894-1898 because of a depression, and on resumption the trophy was in the form of silver galloping horse embossed on a 3 foot long plaque, although it was said to look like a greyhound by some people. It has issued results amended to IFRS standards for its 31 March 2004 and 31 March 2005 year ends for information purposes, and these are shown in the first table below.

It had two handles and an engraving of a horse race set at Flemington. From its 31 March 2006 year end onwards Vodafone will report its results in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The first Australian-made and gold trophy was introduced in 1876. Key Performance Indicator press release for the quarter to 30 June 2005, 25 July 2005. From 1867 to 1875, a silver trophy was presented showing "Alexander Taming the Horse" and a figure of a female with wings. ¹ Vodafone Group Plc. The first trophy was a gold watch, until a silver bowl manufactured in England, with two ornate handles with a horse and rider on top, was introduced in 1865.
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The trophy changed in appearance greatly over the years since the first trophy was awarded in 1861, with several of them featuring model horses. Although the announcement only says that the two groups are partnering to deliver international roaming services, subsequent press releases of the Vodafone Group indicates that it has 27 (now 31) Partner Networks, therefore the 13 networks of America Movil in the agreement are considered Partner Networks. The winning trainer and jockey also receive a miniature replica of the cup and the strapper is awarded the Tommy Woodcock Trophy, named after the strapper of the incomparable Phar Lap. Included in the agreement are the 13 networks owned and controlled by America Movil (except Tracfone in the United States), and the various operating companies of Vodafone and its Partner Networks. The trophy currently awarded (since 1919) is a gold loving cup worth $75,000 at 2005 prices. The services include Voice and GPRS Roaming services, Preferred Roaming and Virtual Home Environment. Trainer Lee Freedman said after the race, "Go and find the youngest child on the course, because that's the only person here who will have a chance of seeing this happen again in their lifetime.". The agreement involves co-operation on international services and roaming.

Makybe Diva made history by becoming the only horse to win three in a row. Latin America On 15 November 2005, Vodafone Group announced a group-wide co-operation agreement with America Movil of Mexico. The 2005 Melbourne Cup was held before a crowd of 106,479. However, Cingular Wireless (a joint venture of SBC Communications (now AT&T) and BellSouth) ultimately outbid Vodafone and took control of AT&T Wireless, and Vodafone's relationship with Verizon has continued. In 2004 Makybe Diva became the first mare to win consecutive cups, and also the first horse to win twice with different trainers, after David Hall moved to Hong Kong and transfered her to the Lee Freedman stables. As AT&T Wireless used the GSM standard, this would have resolved all the above problems. She also won the Caulfield Cup, a 2400 metre race also held in Melbourne, and therefore has won the "Cups Double". Had this bid been successful, Vodafone would presumably have sold its stake in Verizon Wireless, and then rebranded the resultant business as Vodafone.

The 2001 the Melbourne Cup was won by New Zealand mare Ethereal, trained by Sheila Laxon, the first woman to formally train a Melbourne Cup winner. Perhaps as a consequence of these reasons, Vodafone made a bid for the entirety of AT&T Wireless when that company was for sale in 2004. The attraction for foreigners to compete, however, was the far less visible change to the new "quality handicap" weighting system. operations, and (perhaps more importantly) has no control of dividend policy at Verizon Wireless and is therefore entirely at the mercy of Verizon management with respect to cash flow from Verizon Wireless to Vodafone. Most have failed to cope with the conditions, with only Irish trainer Dermott Weld successful in 1993 with Vintage Crop and 2002 with Media Puzzle. Vodafone is thus unable to use the Vodafone brand for its U.S. The race has undergone several alterations over the past decade, the most visible being the arrival of many foreign horses to contest the race in the last decade (notwithstanding the many winners from New Zealand including the famous Phar Lap. The other two stem from the fact that Vodafone has does not have management control over Verizon Wireless.

Many sympathetic owners boycotted the race which started with only seven horses, the smallest number in the history of the cup. and other networks. Archer won again the following year, but because the owner's nomination form arrived late the next year, Archer was unable to contest a third cup. The first is the above-mentioned incompatibility with the GSM standard used by Vodafone's other networks, and the consequent difficulty of offering roaming between Vodafone's U.S. A crowd of 4000 watched the race, although it has been suggested this was less than expected because of news reaching Melbourne of the death of explorers Burke and Wills. This relationship has been quite profitable for Vodafone, but there have historically been three problems with it. It has been said that the winner, Archer, walked 800km to the course from Nowra, New South Wales, but it is possible he travelled by ship. However, Verizon Communications—the company formed when Bell Atlantic and GTE merged on June 30, 2000—owns a majority of Verizon Wireless and Vodafone's branding is not used, nor is the network compatible with GSM phones.

Seventeen horses contested the first Melbourne Cup in 1861, racing for a gold watch and 170 pounds cash. wireless assets and began operations on April 4, 2000. In 2005 a total of 383,784 race fans attended the Melbourne Cup Carnival annual event [1]. The first wireless business with a national footprint in the U.S., Verizon Wireless was composed of Bell Atlantic's and Vodafone AirTouch's U.S. The event is one of the most popular spectator events in Australia, with over 110,000 people, some dressed in traditional formal raceday wear and others in all manner of exotic and amusing costumes, attending the race. In September 1999, Vodafone Airtouch announced a $70-billion joint venture with Bell Atlantic Corp. . in June 1999 and changed its name to Vodafone Airtouch Plc.

The present record holder is the 1990 winner Kingston Rule with a time of 3min 16.3sec. Before this joint venture was formed, Vodafone merged with AirTouch Communications of the U.S. This reduced the distance by 61ft 6in, and Rain Lover's 1968 race record of 3min.19.1sec was accordingly adjusted to 3min.17.9sec. United States In the United States, Vodafone owns 44.4%¹ of Verizon Wireless, the country's second largest mobile carrier. The race was originally held over two miles, about 3,218 metres, but following Australia's adoption of the metric system in 1972 the current distance of 3200 metres was adopted. Vodafone currently operates in the following countries in the Americas region. It is generally regarded as the most prestigious "two-mile" handicap in the world. Vodafone and Telkom will then have a 50% stake each in Vodacom.

The event has been held on the first Tuesday in November since 1861 by the Victoria Racing Club, on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne.
. Billed as The race that stops a nation, it is for three-year-olds and over, and covers a distance of 3200 metres. The proporationate customer numbers are as at 31 December 2005. The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major annual thoroughbred horse race. Vodafone currently operates in the following countries in the Middle East and Africa region. The proportionate customer numbers are at 31 December 2005:.

Vodafone currently operates in the following countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The proportionate customer numbers are for 31 December 2005:. Vodafone currently operates in the following countries in Europe. .

Vodafone is listed on the London Stock Exchange as Vodafone Group (LSE: VOD.L) and New York Stock Exchange, symbol VOD. In the U.S., these customers come via its minority stake in Verizon Wireless, and in the other five markets Vodafone has majority-controlled subsidiaries. The six markets where it has more than ten million proportionate customers are the United Kingdom; Germany, the United States, Italy, Japan, and Spain. On this measure it is the second-largest mobile telecom group in the world behind China Mobile.

[1] ("Proportionate customers" means, for example, that if Vodafone has a 30% stake in a business with a million customers, that is counted as 300,000). At 31 December 2005 Vodafone had 179.3 million proportionate customers in 27 markets across 5 continents. It is the largest mobile telecommunications network company in the world by turnover, with equity interests in 27 countries and Partner Networks (networks in which it has no equity stake) in a further 31 countries. Vodafone Group plc (the name stands for VOice-DAta-FONE) is a British mobile phone operator headquartered in Newbury, Berkshire, England.

December, 2003). BBC News (1. Man Utd rings up £36m shirt deal. December, 2004).

BBC Sport (16. Ferrari extend sponsorship deal. December, 2000). BBC Sport (11.

ECB dials up £12m deal. New Zealand Warriors Rugby League team (until 2007). UEFA Champions League from the 2006/7 season. McLaren Formula One constructor (from 2007).

Ferrari Formula One constructor (until 2006). Newbury AFC (The football club from Newbury, where Vodafone was founded.). Manchester United football till the end of 2005/6 soccer season, which ends Vodafone's four-year shirt deal, two years earlier than planned. Vodafone Oaks and Vodafone Derby horse races at Epsom.

England cricket team. DTM (the German touring car series). David Beckham A two-year deal that was signed in 2002, later extended by another 12 months then ended in July 2005. Daily Express Life Savers Awards.

Clare GAA, Ireland (formerly sponsored by Eircell). Vodafone announces it plans to purchase a controlling interest in VenFin, and then shed VenFin's other assets. 3 November 2005: Vodafone announces that it is in exclusive talks to buy the 15% stake of VenFin in Vodacom Group, reaching agreement the following day. 3 November 2004: Vodafone announced that its South African affiliate Vodacom has agreed to introduce Vodafone's international services, such as Vodafone live! and partner agreements, to its local market.

The second agreement involves the co-operation in Bahrain and the branding of the network as MTC-Vodafone. 29 December 2003: Vodafone signs another Partner Network Agreement with Kuwait's MTC group. The agrrement involved the rebranding of MTC to MTC-Vodafone. 18 September 2002: Vodafone signs a Partner Network Agreement with MTC group of Kuwait.

May 1998: Vodafone Egypt network went live under the name ClickGSM. 25 January 2006: Indonesia, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka are added to the Vodafone footprint as Vodafone Group signs a partner network agreement with Telekom Malaysia. 22 December 2005: Vodafone announces the completion of the acquisition of the 10% stake in Bharti Televentures of India. The acquisition involves two separate transactions.

28 October 2005: Vodafone announces the acquisition of a 10 per cent stake in India's Bharti Televentures, which operates the largest mobile phone network in India under the brand name AirTel. October 2005: Vodafone begins releasing 3G technology in Australia. August 2005: Vodafone released 3G technology in New Zealand. April 2005: Smartone changed the name of its brand from Smartone to 'Smartone-Vodafone'.

October 1st 2003: Vodafone changed the name of its Japanese subsidiary from J-Phone to 'Vodafone', and the name of J-Phone's mobile internet service from J-Sky to Vodafone Live!. 3 November 2003: M1, as a Partner Network is added to the Vodafone footprint. December 2002: J-Phone's 3G network went live. 1999-2000: J-Phone launched the J-sky mobile internet service in response to DoCoMo's i-Mode service.

November 1998: Vodafone purchased BellSouth New Zealand, and it became known as Vodafone New Zealand. July 1994: Vodafone Fiji's network went live. October 1993: Vodafone Australia's network went live. July 1993: BellSouth New Zealand's network went live.

Vodafone Hungary also adopts the new corporate logo. 01 February 2006: Oskar Vodafone drops the Oskar name and becomes Vodafone Czech Republic, adopting the new corporate logo of the group. 05 January 2006: The group announces the completion of the sale of Vodafone Sweden to Telenor. December 2005: Vodafone Spain becomes the second member of the group to adopt the new corporate logo.

[2]. 13 December 2005: Vodafone won an auction to buy Turkey's second-largest mobile phone company, Telsim, for $4.5 billion. After the sale, Vodafone Sweden will become a Partner Network of the Vodafone Group, Plc. The sale will be completed by the end of calendar year 2005.

31 October 2005: Vodafone reached an agreement to sell Vodafone Sweden to Telenor, the largest provider of telecommunications services in Norway, for approximately Euro 1 billion. 28 October 2005: Connex in Romania is rebranded as Connex-Vodafone. (The rebranding of Oskar-Vodafone and Connex-Vodafone also does not use the Sim Card pattern.). Also, various operating companies start to drop the use of the SIM card pattern in the company logo.

17 October 2005: Vodafone Portugal launches a new corporate logo, dropping the speech mark in the O's of the company name, and using the colour silver instead of white, but still retaining the red background. 1 July 2005: Oskar of Czech Republic is rebranded as Oskar-Vodafone. Vodafone also bought Czech mobile operator Oskar. June 2005: Vodafone increased its participation in Romania's Connex to 99%.

November 2004: Vodafone introduced 3G services into Europe. Cyta agreed to rename its mobile phone operations to Cytamobile-Vodafone. 20 February 2004: Vodafone signed a Partner Network Agreement with Cyta of Cyprus. 16 February 2004: Vodafone signed a Partner Network Agreement with Luxembourg's LuxGSM.

21 July 2003: Lithuania is added to Vodafone's worldwide network, with the signing of a Partner Network agreement with Bité. The company is the result of the partnering of Og with Vodafone. 16 April 2003: Og Vodafone is introduced in the Icelandic market. As a result, Vodafone adds Austria, Croatia, and Slovenia in its partner network.

7 January 2003: Vodafone signed a group-wide Partner agreement with mobilkom austria. Radiolinja (Eesti) would later change its name to Elisa. 3 December 2002: Vodafone brand is introduced in the Estonian market with signing of a Partner Network Agreement with Radiolinja (Eesti). 2002: Vodafone rebranded Japan's J-sky mobile internet service as Vodafone live!™ as its mobile customer portal.

Radiolinja later changed its named to Elisa. 2 February 2002: Finland is added into Vodafone's mobile community, as Radiolinja is signed as a Partner Network. (i.e., TDC Mobil-Vodafone; Elisa-Vodafone; Bité-Vodafone etc.). Vodafone services would be marketed under the dual-brand scheme, where the Vodafone brand is added at the end of the local brand.

The concept would be used to extend the Vodafone brand and services into markets where it does not have stakes in local operators. The new concept involves the introduction of Vodafone international services to the local market, without the need of investment by Vodafone. 17 December 2001: Vodafone intoduces the concept of "Partner Network" by signing TDC Mobil of Denmark. 2001-2002: Vodafone acquired Japan's third largest mobile operator J-Phone, which had introduced camera phones first in Japan.

2001: Vodafone took over Eircell, then part of eircom in Ireland and rebranded it Vodafone Ireland. 2001-04-16 First 3G voice call on Vodafone United Kingdom's 3G network. 28 July 2000: Reverts to its former name, Vodafone Group Plc. The deal is one of the largest in European history.

February - April 2000: Vodafone enters German market by buying mobile network operator Mannesmann Mobilfunk GmbH & Co KG. wireless assets and began operations on 4 April 2000. to be called Verizon Wireless, which was composed of the two companies' U.S. 21 September 1999: Vodafone Airtouch announces a $70-billion joint venture with Bell Atlantic Corp.

of the U.S., and changes its name to Vodafone Airtouch Plc. 30 June 1999: Vodafone Group Plc merges with AirTouch Communications, Inc. The logo often appears on the outline of a SIM card. Company introduces new logo, known as the Speechmark, as it is a quotation mark in a circle; the O's in the Vodafone logotype are opening and closing quotation marks, suggesting conversation.

November 1995: Vodafone Spain's (still as "Airtel") network went live. September 1995: Vodafone Italy's (still as "Omnitel") network went live. July 1993: Vodafone Ireland's GSM network went live, as Eircell; a ETACS network had operated from ~1985. July 1993: Vodafone Greece's network went live.

October 1992: Vodafone Portugal's (still as "Telecel, Comunicações Pessoais, SA") network went live. September 1992: Vodafone Sweden's network went live. July 1992: Vodafone United Kingdom's GSM network went live. June 1992: Vodafone Germany's (still as "Mannesmann Mobilfunk GmbH") network went live.

October 1991: Racal Telecom is demerged from Racal Electronics and becomes Vodafone Group. The first call was made to the Vodafone head office—which was at that point above a curry house in Newbury, where the company remains today (but now in a custom-built HQ building). This event was staged, due to a network failure; the first calls actually being made the next day. 1985-01-01: First phone call on Vodafone United Kingdom's analogue network.