Vodafone 2016 Annual Report Download - page 175

Overview Strategy review Performance Governance Financials Additional information
Vodafone Group Plc
Annual Report 2016
173
Allotted during the year
The Company allotted the following shares under share award and option schemes:
Nominal Net
value proceeds
Number £m £m
US share awards and option scheme awards 608,910 –1
7. Share-based payments
Accounting policies
The Group operates a number of equity-settled share-based payment plans for the employees of subsidiaries using the Company’s equity
instruments. The fair value of the compensation given in respect of these share-based payment plans is recognised as a capital contribution to the
Company’s subsidiaries over the vesting period. The capital contribution is reduced by any payments received from subsidiaries in respect of these
share-based payments.
The Company currently uses a number of equity settled share plans to grant options and shares to the Directors and employees of its subsidiaries.
At 31 March 2016, the Company had 24 million ordinary share options outstanding (2015: 25 million) and no ADS options outstanding (2015:nil).
The Company has made capital contributions to its subsidiaries in relation to share-based payments. At 31 March 2016, the cumulative capital
contribution net of payments received from subsidiaries was £69 million (2015: £93 million). During the year ended 31 March 2016, the total capital
contribution arising from share-based payments was £116 million (2015: £88 million), with payments of £93 million (2015: £126 million) received
from subsidiaries.
Full details of share-based payments, share option schemes and share plans are disclosed in note 27 “Share-based payments” to the consolidated
nancial statements.
8. Reserves
The loss for the nancial year dealt with in the nancial statements of the Company is £596 million (2015: £934 million).
The Board is responsible for the Group’s capital management including the approval of dividends. This includes an assessment of both the level
of reserves legally available for distribution and consideration as to whether the Company would be solvent and retain sufcient liquidity following
any proposed distribution.
As Vodafone Group Plc is a Group holding company with no direct operations, its ability to make shareholder distributions is dependent on its ability
to receive funds for such purposes from its subsidiaries in a manner which creates prots available for distribution for the Company. The major
factors that impact the ability of the Company to access prots held in subsidiary companies at an appropriate level to full its needs for distributable
reserves on an ongoing basis include:
a the absolute size of the prot pools either currently available for distribution or capable of realisation into distributable reserves in the
relevant entities;
a the location of these entities in the Group’s corporate structure;
a prot and cash ow generation in those entities; and
a the risk of adverse changes in business valuations giving rise to investment impairment charges, reducing prots available for distribution.
The Group’s consolidated reserves set out on page 89 do not reect the prots available for distribution in the Group.
9. Equity dividends
Accounting policies
Dividends paid and received are included in the Company nancial statements in the period in which the related dividends are actually paid
or received or, in respect of the Company’s nal dividend for the year, approved by shareholders.
2016 2015
£m £m
Declared during the nancial year:
Final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2015: 7.62 pence per share (2014: 7.47 pence per share) 2,020 1,975
Interim dividend for the year ended 31 March 2016: 3.68 pence per share (2015: 3.60 pence per share) 978 955
2,998 2,930
Proposed after the balance sheet date and not recognised as a liability:
Final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2016: 7.77 pence per share (2015: 7.62 pence per share) 2,064 2,020