Vodafone execs to cut share bonuses to appease investors

Decision comes ahead of the telco’s annual meeting later this month

Vodafone’s top executives will cut their share bonuses by a fifth to appease investors after the company’s share price has drastically  decreased in the past year.

CEO Nick Read and CFO Margherita Della Valle both voluntarily requested a 20 per cent cut in share awards ahead of the company’s annual meeting on July 23.

This cut will see them forgo 1.56 million shares, worth more than £2 million. These will vest at the end of the 2022 financial year. Read’s total number of share awards now stands at 3,887,636, while Della Valle’s is at 2,366,387.

In 12 months the telco’s share price has gone down by 30 per cent, reducing its stock market value from £51 billion to £35.7 billion.

In a statement, Vodafone said: “This was requested to reflect the low valuation of the share price following its reduction over the year, particularly the change in value between the date of the remuneration committee’s decision in respect of the value of the awards and the date of grant.”

In a note seen by Sky News, shareholder advisory service ISS has recommended that shareholders vote against Vodafone’s remuneration report at the annual meeting, as share awards to executives under Vodafone’s long-term incentive plan last month were higher than a year ago.

“When there has been a material decline in a company’s share price, remuneration committees should consider reducing the size of LTIP awards at the time of grant,” the note said.