The British telecommunications company Vodafone surprisingly has to look for a new boss.
The rather unlucky acting Nick Read has announced his resignation.
He has been at the helm of the company since October 2018, and during his tenure investor confidence and the share price steadily fell.
The stock is down more than 40 percent and is currently near its 25-year low.
In the morning, her course increased somewhat in response to the upcoming change of boss.
Nick Read will give up his post at the end of the year and will be available as a consultant until the end of March 2023, Deutsche Telekom's competitor announced on Monday in London.
CFO Margherita Della Valle will temporarily lead the company.
The search for a successor has begun.
Read has held various positions with the company since 2001.
"I share the Board of Directors' opinion that now is the right time for a change at the top," the manager said, according to the statement.
During his tenure, he took the radio tower subsidiary Vantage Towers public, which is now managed in a joint venture with the financial investors GIP and KKR.
Observers rate this as his greatest achievement.
One of the omissions is the business in Germany
But analysts complain above all that Read has not managed to improve the competitive situation for Vodafone in the important British home market or in Spain and Italy through takeovers or cooperations.
It was also partly due to missed opportunities, the analysts say.
"Vodafone faces persistent headwinds, with a business in Germany falling short of its potential," Jefferies analyst Jerry Dellis wrote on Monday.
Vodafone's debt remains "uncomfortably high" even after the Vantage deal.
He also doubts whether the previous dividend policy can continue to exist in this form.
Things haven't been going well for Vodafone lately.
In contrast to the competition, the telecommunications provider expects a rather weak profit development for the current financial year until the end of March 2023.
The operating profit (Ebitda AL) should only remain stable at the previous year's level in the best case, but a decline is also possible.
Although sales in the first half of the financial year (as of the end of September) rose by two percent to 22.9 billion euros.
Adjusted for special effects, however, the company earned around 7.2 billion euros from operations, around four percent less than in the same period.
As a result, Vodafone also missed the average estimates of industry experts and earned less than expected.
Among other things, this was due to the ongoing weakness in Vodafone's by far most important market, Germany, which, according to the group, developed below average.
Even the tough competitive situation in Spain and Italy did not improve in the first half of the financial year.