The number is up for Vodafone chief executive Nick Read, an outcome that has felt inevitable for ages. When the boss is collecting £4.2m – his remarkable remuneration last year – there’s only so long investors will tolerate the lowest share price this century. Even Vodafone’s docile board of directors had to recognise a signal of sinking confidence.
The shares have crashed 40% on Read’s four-year watch to sub-100p, which is a shocking statistic despite the weakness in the entire telecoms sector. His refrain for the past year, remember, has been about how Vodafone is “structured for value creation”. Instead, his departure coincides with a fresh debate in the City about whether the debt-laden company can afford its dividend – the one Read himself cut by two-fifths three years ago. A yield of 8.5% says the answer is far from clear.
