LONDON, Nov 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - While it's hard to feel sorry for highly paid FTSE 100 chief executives, Vodafone<\/a>'s Nick Read may deserve some sympathy. The telecom group lost almost a third of its market value since his appointment was announced in May, without any substantial worsening in the business. The new strategy he unveiled on Tuesday helps explain investors' nervousness about the company and the wider sector.

Read's plan has three main parts. The centrepiece is his ambition to cut annual operating costs by 1.2 billion euros by 2021. He will also set up a new division to manage European mobile towers, and may even sell a minority stake in this unit. Finally, Read will push extra products like fast broadband and TV on the 42 billion euro company's existing customers.

The strategy aims to soothe fears that Read might reduce generous dividend payouts, which are worth roughly 4 billion euros per year. A cut was a risk before Tuesday since free cash flow after restructuring charges and payment for mobile spectrum seemed likely to fall below that level this year, and there was little room to take on more debt.

But payouts look safe if Read hits his targets. Assume the 1.2 billion euros of cost cuts take effect at a steady rate over three years, and the business otherwise generates 5.4 billion euros per year of cash. That would give Read some 18.6 billion euros to play with over three years. Deduct spectrum payments and restructuring charges, which are likely to be worth 4.4 billion euros over that period going by the average of the past decade, and there's more than 14 billion euros of free cash flow left for dividends. Keeping payouts steady would cost about 12 billion euros over three years, on Breakingviews calculations.

In the grand scheme of things, however, Read's new strategy is a signal of the telecom industry<\/a>'s dire plight. To maintain payouts, he has to rely on axing call centre staff and consider selling stakes in once-treasured assets like mobile towers. The only part of his plan that is targeting revenue growth in Europe boils down to moving existing customers to more expensive contracts, which include television and superfast broadband. Even so, analysts expect Vodafone's revenue to barely budge between now and 2021, using Refinitiv consensus forecasts. No wonder so many investors have chosen to disconnect.

CONTEXT NEWS

- Vodafone Chief Executive Nick Read said on Nov. 13 that he would reduce operating costs by 1.2 billion euros by 2021 and create a unit within the company that will manage the towers of its controlled operations across Europe. The company said it wanted to generate better returns from its physical assets.

- Revenue was 19.7 billion euros in the six months ending in September, the first half of Vodafone's financial year, on an accounting method that the company used until April 2018. That was 0.8 percent higher than a year earlier after excluding currency movements, business disposals and acquisitions. Adjusted EBITDA grew 2.9 percent over the same period, to 7.1 billion euros.

- Read officially took over from Vittorio Colao<\/a> on Oct. 1. He has proposed a 15.07 euro cent dividend for the current financial year, in line with the previous year.

- The company's free cash flow before spectrum payments will be 5.4 billion euros this financial year, Read said, compared with expectations of 5.2 billion euros previously.

- Vodafone shares were up 7.1 percent to 1.55 pounds at 0900 GMT on Nov. 13.

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新沃达丰电信公司战略信号”的窘境

富时100指数上涨0.2%,1018 GMT时,移动与其他欧洲股市在进步的希望在美国找到支持中美贸易争端。

路透

2018年11月13日更新是06:34点

伦敦,11月13日(路透社财经)——尽管很难同情富时100指数成份股公司首席执行官高薪,沃达丰(Vodafone)尼克的阅读可能值得同情。电信集团失去了几乎三分之一的市场价值自他的任命宣布今年5月,没有任何实质性恶化。他周二公布的新战略有助于解释投资者对该公司的紧张和更广泛的领域。

阅读的计划有三个主要部分。其中最引人注目的是他的野心将年度运营成本削减12亿欧元到2021年。他还将设立一个新部门管理欧洲移动塔,甚至可能在这个单位出售少数股权。最后,阅读将额外的高速宽带和电视等产品420亿欧元的公司的现有客户。

战略旨在安抚担心读可能减少慷慨的派息,这是每年价值约40亿欧元。降低风险之前周二因为自由现金流之后重组费用和支付移动谱似乎今年可能会低于这一水平,有小房间去承担更多的债务。

但是支付安全如果读达到他的目标。承担12亿欧元的成本削减速度稳定在三年内生效,否则和业务产生每年54亿欧元的现金。会给阅读约186亿欧元在三年内玩。支付和扣除光谱重组费用,可能价值44亿欧元在此期间的平均过去的十年里,有超过140亿欧元的自由现金流了红利。保持稳定的支出将在三年内花费120亿欧元,在财经计算。

宏大计划的事情,然而,阅读的新战略是一个电信的信号行业可怕的困境。维护支出,他必须依靠取消呼叫中心员工和考虑出售股份once-treasured电话塔等资产。唯一的目标是他的计划的一部分收入增长在欧洲可以归结为现有客户转移到更昂贵的合同,其中包括电视和超高速宽带。尽管如此,分析师预计沃达丰的收入勉强让步从现在到2021年,使用Refinitiv共识预测。难怪那么多投资者选择断开。

环境新闻乐动扑克

——沃达丰首席执行官尼克读11月13日表示,他将运营成本减少12亿欧元,2021年创建一个单元将在公司内部管理控制塔的操作整个欧洲。该公司表示,它希望从实物资产产生更好的回报。

——收入197亿欧元在截至9月份的6个月,沃达丰(Vodafone)上半年的财政年度,公司使用的会计方法,直到2018年4月。比去年同期高0.8%扣除汇率变动后,业务出售和收购。调整后息税前利润同期增长2.9%,至71亿欧元。

——读正式接替维托里奥·科劳10月1日。他提出了一个15.07欧分当前财政年度的股息,与前一年。

——公司的自由现金流频谱之前支付54亿欧元这个财政年度,读说,与之相比,此前预期的52亿欧元。

——沃达丰股价上涨7.1%,至1.55英镑0900 GMT 11月13日。