Vodafone slashing of dividend big blow to Irish shareholders

Vodafone’s dividend has cracked under the strain of falling revenue, soaring spectrum costs, and an €18.5bn acquisition, in a grim reality check for Europe’s struggling phone industry.

Slashing the dividend by 40% to 9 cents a share, reversing chief executive Nick Read’s goal to keep the payout unchanged, will come as a particular blow to the many thousands of Irish shareholders of Vodafone.