Vodafone has cut its annual cash flow and profit forecasts amid higher energy costs, rising inflation pressures and weaker trading in parts of Europe.
The telecoms group issued the downbeat outlook alongside weaker-than-expected half-year earnings, which sent its shares to a 20-year low, down almost 8p, or 7.6 per cent, to 76¼p, making it the biggest faller on the FTSE 100.
The headwinds have prompted Vodafone, in whose share register a number of activist investors have built stakes this year, to launch a new cost-cutting target of more than €1 billion.
Nick Read, the chief executive since 2018 and former finance boss, said an efficiency programme, which has already reduced costs by €1.5 billion, would be extended to 2026 and involve “streamlining and simplifying our
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