Staff to get €5.5m from share options

About 750 staff at Vodafone Ireland will receive a €5

About 750 staff at Vodafone Ireland will receive a €5.5 million windfall on July 1st when they cash in share options offered as a bonus to long-term employees.

Vodafone's shop floor staff, call centre operatives and middle managers will all be among those eligible to cash in options that were granted in 2002 as an incentive to the workforce.

The stock options are worth an average of about €7,300 to each employee who has been with the mobile company for the past four years. The options were granted at a strike price of 90 pence sterling at a time when Vodafone's share price was at an all-time low of 80.5 pence.

The firm's share price has since recovered to 138.5 pence, enabling employees to cash in their shares and make a windfall profit.

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Vodafone granted 480 million options to its global workforce in 2002, with each member of staff awarded options with a face value of half annual salary. The options were dependent on Vodafone's earnings per share rising by 3 per cent per annum above inflation for the following three years.

Last week, Vodafone chief executive Arun Sarin announced underlying profits of more than £10 billion and doubled the dividend. The group has hit all of the earnings growth targets, and all 480 million options will vest on July 1st.