Vodafone Group (VOD) top executives have agreed to cut their share bonuses by a fifth in an attempt to quell a potential investor revolt at its annual meeting this month. The company, which in May cut its dividend payout to shareholders for the first time in its history, said its chief executive, Nick Read, and its finance chief, Margherita Della Valle, had voluntarily requested the 20% cut in share awards in recognition of the company’s plummeting value in the last year. Vodafone’s share price has plunged 30% in 12 months, wiping more than £15bn off the company’s stock market value, from £51bn to £35.7bn. “This was requested to reflect the low valuation of the share price following its reduction over the year,” the company said. “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.”
The returning co-founder of Superdry (SDRY) has said it will take up to two years to fix the struggling British fashion group after it slumped to an £85.4m annual loss. Julian Dunkerton is now the interim chief executive, as well as the group’s largest shareholder after winning a bitter battle to rejoin the board in April, prompting the resignation of all its directors. He said its performance in the new financial year would “reflect market conditions and the [historical] issues inherited”, with sales likely to fall. “This is an aggressive turnaround. This year is a year of stability with small moves forward but in 12 to 24 months you will see much more progress,” Dunkerton said.