Operating profit/(loss)

12 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2021

Operating profit/(loss)

Operating profit/(loss)

 3. Operating profit/(loss) 

Detailed below are the key amounts recognised in arriving at our operating profit/(loss)

	2021	2020	2019
	€m	€m	€m
Amortisation of intangible assets (note 10)	4,421	4,459	3,941
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment (note 11):
Owned assets	5,766	5,995	5,795
Leased assets	3,914	3,720	59
Impairment of goodwill in subsidiaries, associates and joint arrangements (note 4)	0	1,685	3,525
Staff costs (note 24)	5,157	5,462	5,267
Amounts related to inventory included in cost of sales	5,160	5,699	5,886
Operating lease rentals payable	0	—	3,826
Own costs capitalised attributable to the construction or acquisition of property, plant and equipment	(995)	(902)	(844)
Net gain on formation of TPG Telecom1 (note 12)	1,043	—	—
Net gain on formation of Indus Towers Limited1 (note 12)	292	—	—
Pledge arrangements in respect of Indus Towers Limited1 (note 29)	(429)	—	—
Settlement of tender offer to KDG shareholders1	(204)	—	—
Net gain on disposal of Vodafone New Zealand1 (note 27)	0	(1,078)	—
Net gain on disposal of tower infrastructure in Italy1 (note 27)	0	(3,356)	—
Net gain on disposal of Vodafone Malta1 (note 27)	0	(170)	—

Note:

1 Included in Other income and expense in the Consolidated income statement.

The total remuneration of the Group's auditor, Ernst & Young LLP and other member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, for services provided to the Group during the year ended 31 March 2021 is analysed below.

Ernst & Young LLP was appointed as the Group’s auditor for the year ended 31 March 2020. Accordingly, comparative figures in the table below for the year ended 31 March 2019 are in respect of remuneration paid to the Group’s previous auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and other member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International.

	2021	2020	2019
		Re-presented1
	€m	€m	€m
Parent company	3	4	2
Subsidiaries	16	17	14
Subsidiaries - Vantage Towers2	1	—	—
Subsidiaries - new accounting standards3	0	1	1
Audit fees4	20	22	17
Vantage Towers IPO2	8	5	—
Audit-related5	0	1	2
Corporate finance6	0	1	—
Non-audit fees	8	7	2
Total fees	28	29	19

Notes:

1 Audit fees for the year ended 31 March 2020 have increased by €2 million compared to the amount previously reported. This is to include fees agreed during the year ended 31 March 2021 but which related to the year ended 31 March 2020.

2 Fees incurred in preparations for the IPO of Vantage Towers A.G. During the year ended 31 March 2021, fees of €1 million related to financial statement audit services and fees of €8 million related to IPO services and Reporting Accountant procedures.

3 Fees in relation to the implementation of new accounting standards, notably IFRS 15 “Revenue from Contracts with Customers” and IFRS 16 “Leases” which were effective for the first time for the years ended 31 March 2019 and 31 March 2020 respectively.

4 Includes fees in connection with the interim review, preliminary announcement and controls audit required under Section 404 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act. In total this amounted to €1 million in each year for the years ended 31 March 2020 and 31 March 2021.

5 Fees for statutory and regulatory filings during the year. Fees were less than €1 million during the years ended 31 March 2021 and 31 March 2020. 

6 At the time of the Board decision to recommend Ernst & Young LLP as the statutory auditor for the year ended 31 March 2020 in February 2019, Ernst & Young LLP were providing a range of services to the Group. All services that were prohibited by the Financial Reporting Council (‘FRC’) or Securities and Exchange Commission (‘SEC’) for a statutory auditor to provide ceased by 31 March 2019. All engagements that were not prohibited by the FRC or SEC but were not in accordance with the Group’s own internal approval policy for non-audit services, ceased early in the financial year ended 31 March 2020 to enable a smooth transition to alternative suppliers, where required.