Vodafone has launched the next stage of its share repurchase programme worth up to €500m (£430m).
In March, the firm said it would return €4bn (£3.4bn) to shareholders as part of a broader capital allocation review in an attempt to appease jittery shareholders following asset sales.
It kicked off the return in May with an initial €500m (£430m) share buyback and reiterated plans to return €2bn to shareholders over the next 12 months.
The FTSE 100 giant’s shares are down nearly 10 per cent year to date and it has shed over half its value over the past five years.
But chief executive Margherita Della Valle has been trying to turn the company around by selling off its weaker Italian and Spanish arms, its infrastructure assets and returning cash to investors.
Vodafone’s £15bn merger with Three still pending
It comes after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) delayed the deadline to complete the probe and publish its findings on Vodafone and Three’s £15bn planned merger to December 7.
The extension reflects the “very wide scope” of the inquiry and the “technical and regulatory complexity of the sector”, the watchdog said at the start of August.
It has also been taking time to examine large quantities of evidence provided by both businesses.
At the time, the two mobile firms said the deal would allow them to invest more in their services and better compete with major rivals, EE operator BT and Virgin Media-O2.
Earlier this year, the CMA said it had concerns that two of the UK’s largest mobile networks merging could make it harder for smaller mobile operators – like Sky Mobile, Lebara and Lyca Mobile – to negotiate good deals for their own customers.