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Pin to quick picksVodafone Share News (VOD)

Share Price Information for Vodafone (VOD)

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Share Price: 70.46
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Ask: 70.66
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HEARD ON THE STREET: Sleepless Nights At Vodafone

Fri, 23rd Jul 2010 16:54

By Hester Plumridge A DOW JONES COLUMN Sir John Bond can sleep a little easier - for now. The Vodafone chairman is under pressure from the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan which is unhappy with the U.K. mobile telecom group's strategy and says it will vote to oust Mr. Bond and his deputy, John Buchanan, at the annual meeting on 27 July. But a hastily announced strategic review due this autumn, combined with better than expected second quarter services revenues of GBP10.6 billion, buys the pair some time. They should use it to accelerate plans to rationalize Vodafone's disparate businesses and investments - or see shareholder dissatisfaction spread. OTPP's criticism is warranted. Vodafone trades at a 40% discount to a sum of the parts valuation, according to Sanford Bernstein. OTTP blames this on the group's record of poor capital allocation and "disastrous" deal-making. Acquisition write-downs have totaled GBP51 billion since 2001, equal to two-thirds of Vodafone's market capitalization. The group's exposure to the U.S., France and China is through minority investments, which restrict control over investment decisions and visibility on cashflows. Vittorio Colao has slowed the frenetic deal activity since becoming chief executive in 2008. Aside from raising its stake in pan-African group Vodacom, there have been no multi-billion dollar deals since the 2007 purchase of Hutch Essar. But Mr. Colao has been slow to sell assets, despite saying he has no wish to manage minority investments. True, agreeing on price can be tough. The sale of Vodafone's Egyptian business broke down in June over concerns on buyer funding. And Vodafone argues its decision to hang onto its stake in Verizon Wireless has been a good one as the U.S. mobile group's value has grown in recent years. But selling its stake in French group SFR or China Mobile would help convince shareholders Vodafone is actively managing its business. An SFR sale could raise some EUR8 billion, money which could be used to help reduce high debt levels of around 2.3 times Ebitda, or invest more heavily in networks and data services. For now, the pressure on Vodafone's board is limited to just one shareholder with a 0.4% stake. The strategic review will determine if it stays that way. (Hester Plumridge is a writer for Heard on the Street. She can be reached on +44 20 7842 9267 or hester.plumridge@dowjones.com) TALK BACK: We invite readers to send us comments on this or other financial news topics. Please email us at TalkbackEurope@dowjones.com. Readers should include their full names, work or home addresses and telephone numbers for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit and publish your comments along with your name; we reserve the right not to publish reader comments. (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 23, 2010 11:54 ET (15:54 GMT)
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28 Mar 2024 13:54

IN BRIEF: Vodafone Chair Boxmeer buys GBP570,000 in shares

Vodafone Group PLC - Berkshire, England-based telecommunications provider - Chair Jean-Francois van Boxmeer buys 823,500 shares at GBP0.69 each, worth GBP568,215, in London on Wednesday.

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27 Mar 2024 09:40

LONDON BROKER RATINGS: Sainsbury's, Petershill Partners upped to 'buy'

(Alliance News) - The following London-listed shares received analyst recommendations Wednesday morning and Tuesday:

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26 Mar 2024 11:21

Vodafone Germany to cut 2,000 jobs in revamp

FRANKFURT, March 26 (Reuters) - Vodafone Germany aims to save around 400 million euros ($434.48 million) over the next two years as part of a restructuring that will hit some 2,000 jobs, the company said on Tuesday.

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26 Mar 2024 11:15

UPDATE: Vodafone Germany cuts 2,000 jobs as part of savings programme

(Alliance News) - Vodafone GmbH is cutting and relocating around 2,000 jobs in a bid to save EUR400 million in the next two years, the Dusseldorf, Germany-based subsidiary of Vodafone Group PLC announced on Tuesday.

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26 Mar 2024 10:43

Vodafone Germany: 400-mln-eur restructuring to affect 2,000 jobs

BERLIN, March 26 (Reuters) - Vodafone Germany said on Tuesday that it aims to save around 400 million euros ($434.48 million) over the next two years as part of a transformation programme that will affect some 2,000 jobs.

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26 Mar 2024 10:42

Vodafone Germany cutting 2,000 jobs as part of savings programme

(Alliance News) - Vodafone GmbH is cutting and relocating around 2,000 jobs in a bid to save EUR400 million in the next two years, the Germany, Dusseldorf-based subsidiary of Vodafone Group PLC announced Tuesday.

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22 Mar 2024 16:09

London close: Stocks mixed as Bailey hints at rate cuts

(Sharecast News) - London's stock markets closed in a mixed state on Friday as investors weighed optimistic retail sales data against remarks from Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey.

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22 Mar 2024 11:46

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: FTSE 100 boosted after week of rate decisions

(Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 in London were higher at midday on Friday, as investor sentiment remained high, after there were no surprises from UK and US central banks this week.

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22 Mar 2024 09:19

TOP NEWS: UK CMA says Vodafone/Three merger raises competition worries

(Alliance News) - The UK Competition & Markets authority on Friday said a planned merger between Vodafone UK and Three UK could raise consumer prices and harm investment into UK mobile networks.

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22 Mar 2024 07:32

CMA warns Vodafone, Three deal will face full probe if solutions not given

(Sharecast News) - Vodafone and Three UK have been told to find ways to assuage Britain's competition regulator that their planned $19bn merger would not leave consumers worse off or face a full investigation.

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18 Mar 2024 16:23

Director dealings: Vodafone CFO makes share purchase

(Sharecast News) - Vodafone Group revealed on Monday that chief financial officer Luka Mucic had acquired 2.46m ordinary shares in the FTSE 100-listed telecommunications giant.

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18 Mar 2024 09:39

IN BRIEF: Vodafone CFO buys 2.5 million shares for GBP1.7 million

Vodafone Group PLC - Berkshire, England-based telecommunications provider - Group Chief Financial Officer Luka Mucic purchased 2.5 million shares on Friday in London at 69.64 pence each for GBP1.7 million in total. Vodafone also on Friday announced the sale of its Italian business to Swisscom AG for EUR8 billion, with EUR4 billion to be returned to shareholders through a buyback. It said, however, that annual dividends from financial 2025 onwards will be rebased to 4.5 euro cents, down from 9.00 cents for financial 2024.

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15 Mar 2024 16:55

LONDON MARKET CLOSE: FTSE closes in red; Reckitt plunges on lawsuit

(Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 in London closed lower on Friday, ahead of a busy week for interest rate decisions.

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15 Mar 2024 15:07

London close: Stocks finish mixed after Reckitt compo blow

(Sharecast News) - London's equity markets finished in a mixed state at the end of a quiet trading session on Friday, after another hotter-than-expected US inflation reading overnight.

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15 Mar 2024 12:11

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: FTSE 100 underperforms despite mining, oil boost

(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 overcame a muted morning to head into Friday afternoon on the up, though its progress was shy of the loftier gains seen by mainland European peers, as investors showed some signs of trepidation ahead of a pair of interest rate decisions next week.

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