Shaping sustainable connections

Message from our CEO

In my first year as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at VodafoneZiggo, I am pleased to welcome you to our Integrated Annual Report 2024. We are looking back on a year of change: from new leadership and technologies to major entertainment launches and network upgrades, 2024 marked the start of a new phase in our company’s evolution. The theme of this year’s report, Shaping sustainable connections, reflects the importance of the steps we are taking and our role in contributing to lasting positive impact.

Shaping sustainable connections

At VodafoneZiggo, connections start with technology and access to information, but – as you will read in the pages that follow – they also go much further. Through our networks and connections, we aim not only to bring people together but also to create a sustainable impact, in every sense of the word, on the communities and environment around us. I have no doubt that, guided by our strategy, we are moving in the right direction. This is supported by VodafoneZiggo’s financial performance in 2024, which saw us deliver on our guidance against the backdrop of a challenging and competitive market environment. While our customer base decreased during the year, our year-on-year revenue was stable and we achieved an improvement in our operating result.

Moreover, we made good progress on a number of fronts during the year. The highlight was the launch of our exclusive UEFA coverage, further strengthening our unique offering as the home of sport and entertainment in the Netherlands. We also launched a new converged app for our Vodafone and Ziggo brands and implemented new artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to support our customer-facing teams, contributing to an enhanced customer experience. Under Vodafone Business, we not only retained important customers but also won major new tenders, reflecting the value we bring as a partner in progress in today’s digital economy. Meanwhile, we made significant upgrades to the fundamental security, quality and reliability of the mobile and fixed networks that make it all possible – all while earning an EcoVadis Platinum medal that puts us in the top 1% of rated companies globally. I invite you to read more about these and our other achievements in the relevant sections of this report.

Going for growth

We recognise these accomplishments in the knowledge that there is still work to be done. While we improved our customer experience level in 2024, we did not make as much progress towards our target as hoped. Meanwhile, VodafoneZiggo continues to operate in an extremely challenging market, with our competitors rolling out fibre connectivity accompanied by aggressive pricing strategies. Within this landscape, I believe 2024 was proof that we must be more focused and more decisive if we are to return to durable, profitable growth.

At VodafoneZiggo, the unique value of our offering lies not only in the high-quality connections we provide, but also – crucially – in the enjoyment and progress these connections enable for our customers and for society at large. To succeed in the fast-changing telecom industry of today and tomorrow, we must therefore ensure that everything we do is focused on and driven by our customers. Only by truly understanding what customers care about, and delivering exceptional solutions and experiences accordingly, can we build intimate and sustainable connections with them.

As for 2025, we are sharpening our customer focus in line with our determination to get back to growth – with more targeted investment in our brands, our networks and the value we create for consumer and business customers alike. We are also embarking on an evolution of our strategy that reflects the need to concentrate our efforts on these critical areas. Moreover, in the first quarter of 2025, we introduced a market-first WiFi Guarantee, changed our broadband prices to be more market competitive and upgraded speeds for our customers. In the remainder of the year, we expect to deliver a number of new initiatives to meet the demands of our rapidly changing market.

With significant opportunities ahead of us, I am confident that we are up to the challenge of seizing them. Shortly after I took up the reins as CEO, I enjoyed an insightful lunch bringing together some of VodafoneZiggo’s longest-serving employees and very newest joiners. Whether they had been with the company for more than 40 years or only a matter of weeks, they all expressed a shared pride in what we do and a belief in the value of the connections we provide. It is by building on this foundation of care – care in our work and care for the customers and society we serve – that we will ensure we innovate and deliver exceptional solutions, secure long-term growth for our company and enable progress for all our stakeholders.

A network powered by passion

For me personally, I am pleased to have joined VodafoneZiggo at such a pivotal time for our organisation. We start with robust fundamentals and a strong track record and unified culture – none of which would be possible without our talented people and their dedication to our purpose, goals and values. I am grateful for their contributions during 2024, as well as for the warm welcome I have received from day one. I look forward to continuing to meet and work with them all as we continue forging more meaningful connections, more sustainably than ever.

Stephen van Rooyen
CEO VodafoneZiggo