MADRID, 5 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -
The CEO of Vodafone, Nick Read, has agreed with the Vodafone Group board that he will leave his position as top executive of the multinational, which he has held since 2018, on December 31, although he will remain available as a board advisor until March 31 2023, as announced by the company.
Likewise, the current financial director of Vodafone, Margherita Della Valle, has been appointed interim CEO of the company. Vodafone's board has started a process to find a new CEO.
"During his four years as CEO, (Read) led Vodafone through the pandemic, ensuring our customers remained connected to their families and businesses," said Jean-François van Boxmeer, Vodafone's Chairman, highlighting the company's approach during this period to Europe and Africa as a provider of convergent connectivity, as well as the leadership in the sector to unlock value from tower infrastructures.
"I agreed with the Board that now is the right time to hand over to a new leader who can build on Vodafone's strengths and capture the important opportunities that lie ahead," said Nick Read.
Vodafone's share price has fallen by more than 40% in the last four years, including a decline of almost 20% in the last twelve months.
The British operator obtained net attributable profit of 986 million euros in the first six months of its fiscal year, 1% less than in the same period of the previous year, while turnover between April and September reached 22,930 million euros, 2% above the revenue recorded in the first half of last year, including a 1% increase in revenue from services, up to 19,207 million euros, although in organic terms they increased by 2.5%.
For the year as a whole, given the worsening global macroeconomic climate, with energy costs and broader inflation in particular, Vodafone expects to achieve an adjusted gross operating result (Ebitda) of between 15,000 and 15,200 million euros, compared to the previous range of between 15,000 and 15,500 million, as well as an adjusted free cash flow of about 5,100 million, below the previous estimate of about 5,300 million.
