Robi declares ‘no” dividend after listing

Robi Axiata, the country’s second largest telecom operator, has declared “no” dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2020, after listing with the stock market this year.

The board of directors of the company recommended ‘no’ dividend at its 91th board meeting held on Monday, according to a price sensitive information posted on its website.

The annual general meeting (AGM) will be held on March 21 using a digital platform. The record date is on March 8.

The company’s earnings per share (EPS), however, jumped 725 per cent year-on-year to Tk 0.33 for the year ended on December 31, 2020. Its EPS was Tk 0.04 for the year ended on December 31, 2019.

Robi’s net asset value (NAV) per share stood at Tk 13.90 for the year ended on December 31, 2020 against Tk 12.64 for the same period of the previous year.

The company’s net operating cash flow per share (NOCFPS) was Tk 5.36 for the year ended on December 31, 2020 against Tk 6.10 for the same period of the previous year.

Each share of the Robi, which joined the stock market with the largest-ever IPO in Bangladesh’s capital market history having 523 million ordinary shares on December 24, 2020, closed at Tk 46 on Monday.

The newly listed company’s shares traded between Tk 15 and Tk 77.10 after making debut on the bourses on December 24, 2020.

The mobile phone operator raised roughly Tk 5.24 billion from a wide range of investors including its own employees under the fixed-price method.

The IPO proceeds will be used to expand the company’s network in anticipation of revenue-generating opportunities in the areas such as Internet-of-Things.

Robi has emerged as the fourth largest listed company in terms of market capitalisation after Grameenphone, Walton and BATBC.

Robi’s market-cap stood at Tk 220 billion as of Monday while GP’s market-cap stood at Tk 502 billion, Walton (Tk 325 billion), British American Tobacco Bangladesh (Tk 288 billion), according to Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) data.

Robi was the first operator to roll out 3.5G services in Bangladesh. It introduced 4.5G services across all 64 districts in 2018.

The company’s paid-up capital is Tk 52.37 billion and authorised capital is Tk 60 billion, while the total number of securities is nearly 5.24 billion.

The sponsor-directors own 90.05 per cent stake in the Robi while the institutional investors own 2.03 per cent and the general public 7.92 per cent as on January 31, 2021, the DSE data shows.

The mobile phone operator started its journey in 1997 under the brand name of Aktel. It then changed its name to Axiata (Bangladesh) in 2009 and took the present name Robi Axiata in 2010.

Axiata holds a 68.69 per cent stake in the company and Delhi-based Bharti Airtel owns the remaining 31.31 per cent.

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