Vodafone contributes directly to countries in which it operates through licence fees, taxes, wages and by purchasing products and services.
A standard measure of a company's economic contribution is 'cash value added'. This is the value of sales less the cost of bought-in materials, components and services we buy from our suppliers. Vodafone added £12.3 billion to the global economy in 2007/08, compared with £11.3 billion the previous year.
| 2007/08 | 2006/07 | 2005/06 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue distribution | |||
| Suppliers (£m) | 23,816 | 20,433 | 25,914 |
| Employees (£m) | 2,324 | 2,050 | 2,106 |
| Shareholders returns (£m) | 3,778 | 12,636 | 9,257 |
| Lenders (£m) | 1,107 | 525 | 402 |
| Tax Authorities (corporation taxes and social security only) (£m) | 3,140 | 2,544 | 1,939 |
| Retained for growth (£m) | 1,875 | (6,483) | (2,087) |
| Cash value added (£ billion) | 12.3 | 11.3 | 11.7 |
The UK Government Department of Trade and Industry's Value Added Scoreboard 2007 ranked Vodafone sixth in the UK and 21st in Europe. The criteria for the scorecard differ to the cash value added measure, primarily as it excludes capital expenditure within the cost of goods and services.
We contribute indirectly to economies in less developed countries as the presence of mobile telecommunications promotes GDP and individual entrepreneurial opportunities. For more information see Access to communications.