Robi earns record profit in 2025 on lower operating costs

Robi Axiata secured a record profit of Tk 9.37 billion in 2025, riding on the lower impact of currency devaluation and reduced operating expenses amid a challenging business environment.

The second-largest telecom operator's profit jumped more than 33 per cent year-on-year despite a marginal 1 per cent revenue growth to Tk 99.92 billion in 2025.

The top-line growth remained slim because of a decline in voice revenue. Sustained high inflation and adverse macroeconomic conditions contained subscriber spending, particularly in voice revenue, said Ziad Shatara, managing director and CEO of Robi Axiata, in a statement.

"Despite the continued slide in voice revenue, Robi managed to register positive revenue growth, thanks to robust growth in data revenue driven by sizable additions of data and 4G users and increased data usage per user," said the Robi CEO.

By deploying new spectrum and rolling out new sites, Robi's active subscriber base reached 57.4 million at the end of 2025, with an addition of 0.70 million new subscribers over the previous year.

Of them, 44.5 million or 77.5 per cent of subscribers are data users, while 69.5 per cent are 4G users - the highest proportions among operators in Bangladesh.

"This stellar performance reflects the trust Robi's subscribers have in a strong network, while Robi's journey of digital transformation continued to gather momentum."

Robi's operational excellence enabled the company to raise profitability amid a challenging revenue environment, the CEO added.

Buoyed by profit growth, Robi declared a 17.5 per cent cash dividend for 2025, the highest since its listing in 2020.

The dividends to be paid to shareholders are equivalent to 98 per cent of the profit earned during the year.

For the last several years, Robi has been investing heavily in spectrum, network expansion and expanding its digital business, emerging as a strong player in the industry. Robi invested Tk 13.04 billion in 2025 for better network coverage and expansion.

"We have continued to invest heavily in our network to ensure a quality experience for our customers' rapidly growing data consumption.

"Having deployed additional 4G sites in our network located in 40 districts across the country, we have significantly enhanced our network coverage in underserved markets," said the CEO.

As part of the company's drive to strengthen its network, Robi's total 4G sites reached 19K at the end of the year, providing coverage to 99 per cent of the population, the telecom operator claimed.

Having attained 4G leadership, Robi was the first telecom operator to launch 5G service in September last year and is working to build the ecosystem for the expansion of 5G services.

Robi also made significant contributions to the government exchequer, contributing Tk 62.01 billion for the year, representing 62 per cent of its annual revenue, through various taxes.

However, the Robi CEO said an excessively burdensome tax regime impedes industry progress.

Despite the record profit, Robi's stock fell 2.22 per cent to Tk 30.8 per share on Thursday on the Dhaka Stock Exchange.

Its net operating cash flow per share improved to Tk 9.04 for the year, compared to Tk 8.83 in the previous year.

The company's annual general meeting will be held on April 22, while the record date is March 16.

Robi joined the stock market in December 2020 by raising Tk 5.24 billion from the primary market. Asian telecom giant Axiata Group Berhad, based in Malaysia, holds a 61.82 per cent share in Robi Axiata, while Bharti Airtel holds a 28.18 per cent stake and the general public holds the remaining 10 per cent in the company.

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