Robi's earnings jumps by 112.5pc in Q3

Robi, the country's second-largest telecom operator, has ended the third quarter of the year with a 112.5 per cent jump in earnings.

The shares of Robi rose 1.5 per cent to their highest level since Oct 18, while the country’s benchmark index declined.

Consolidated earnings per share rose to Tk 0.17 in the July-September quarter from Tk. 0.08 a year earlier, Robi said in a stock exchange filing on Sunday. Consolidated net operating cash flow per share improved to Tk 4.49 in the January-September period from Tk 4.02 a year earlier.

Compared to the first nine months of 2020, Robi’s net profit in the same period this year grew by 44.3 per cent to Tk 1.67 billion, reports bdnews24.com.

At a news briefing, Robi’s acting CEO M Riyaaz Rashid said: “We are very happy to see our profit rising steadily every quarter this year.”

“However, it is very disappointing to note that our PAT in the first nine months could have been Tk 2.89 billion, instead of Tk 1.67 billion, had we not been subjected to a further 2.0 per cent minimum turnover tax.”

“Our shareholders are certainly being deprived of the value they deserve for their investment in the company due to this reason.”

Referring to the lack of effective SMP regulation, he said: “If immediate actions are not taken to ensure effective implementation of SMP regulation, the SMP regulation will soon be rendered hopeless due to the fast-evolving nature of the industry.

“In this backdrop, one wonders how long four players can sustain in this market.”

Robi said its 4G subscribers grew by 12.7 per cent over the second quarter, while it was a 51.1 per cent leap from the third quarter last year.

The total number of 4G subscribers in Bangladesh now stands at 224 million, of which 53 million are Robi users. In addition, 74 per cent of the company’s subscribers are now data users, which is the highest in the industry.

Robi’s subscriber base grew by 5.8 per cent from the same quarter last year. As many as 29.5 per cent of mobile phone users are now Robi subscribers.

The company’s revenue reached Tk 20.85 billion following a rise of 2.7 per cent from the second quarter. In the first nine months of this year, Robi’s revenue reached Tk 60.97 billion.

Robi’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation or EBITDA stood at Tk 8.61 billion in the third quarter, a rise of 0.8 per cent from the last quarter and a 9.3 per cent leap from the same quarter last year. The EBITDA margin at the end of the quarter stood at 41.3 per cent.

Including capex investment of Tk 650.7 billion in the third quarter, the total capex investment in the initial nine months of the year reached Tk 13.86 billion.

The total amount paid to the government exchequer during the first nine months reached Tk 33.73 billion, which is 55.3 per cent of the company’s total revenue for the period.