Robi Axiata posted a remarkable 341 per cent year-on-year growth in profit to Tk 1.07 billion in the second quarter this year, supported by higher revenue growth coupled with efficient cost management.
The second largest telecom operator registered more than 2.5 per cent revenue growth to Tk 26.04 billion in the three months through June, while the data revenue shot up 12.7 per cent indicating strong data-led growth momentum.
Meanwhile, the telecom operator's cost of revenue generation was cut sharply by 12.76 per cent year-on-year, leading to a bottom-line growth momentum despite macroeconomic and regulatory challenges.
The cost of revenue, which includes all associated costs to generate revenue, stood at Tk 14.83 billion in April-June this year, which was nearly 57 per cent of total revenue, down from 67 per cent of total revenue in the same quarter of the previous year.
By deploying new spectrum and new site rollout, Robi's active subscriber base reached 59.5 million with 45.4 million using the Internet while the number of 4G users stood at 37.6 million at the end of June.
"Despite the economic woes and the mounting regulatory challenges, we are happy to see Robi continuing on the growth trajectory," said Rajeev Sethi, managing director and chief executive officer of Robi Axiata in a statement posted on the company's website on Monday.
"We have continued to invest heavily in our network to ensure quality experience for our customers' rapidly growing data consumption."
Of the total active subscribers, 76.3 per cent were Internet users while 63 per cent used 4G networks.
Mr Sethi said the significant devaluation of the taka due to the introduction of a crawling peg system for currency exchange rate adjustment and the rising borrowing cost had knocked off a large chunk of the profit, "despite razor-sharp focus on efficient cost management".
Robi's foreign exchange loss jumped 7.5 times year-on-year to Tk 475 million in the April-June quarter.
Welcoming the regulatory move to improve the quality of services (QoS), Mr Sethi said, "We welcome the closer scrutiny from the regulator on improving QoS for our subscribers. Robi is consistently offering better quality than what is expected as per the QoS regulation".
For the last several years, Robi has been investing heavily on spectrum, and has expanded its digital business, emerging as a strong player in the industry.
Robi's half-yearly revenue also rose almost 4 per cent to Tk 51.20 billion in January-June this year while profit escalated 222 per cent year-on-year to 2.14 billion during the period.
Robi invested Tk 6.77 billion during the second quarter, taking the total investment to Tk 10.43 billion in January-June this year.
Robi contributed Tk 16.89 billion to the national exchequer, equivalent to 64.9 per cent of its total revenue in Q2, while total payment reached Tk 32.95 billion in January-June this year.
STOCK
PERFORMANCE
Despite the impressive financial performance, Robi fell 2.5 per cent further on the Dhaka Stock Exchange to Tk 23.4 per share on Monday.
It plunged 22 per cent since the removal of floor price.
The stock market regulator withdrew the price restriction from Robi on March 18 this year after more than 18 months. Robi was stuck at Tk 30 per share on the DSE during the time.
ANNUAL
PERFORMANCE
Robi's annual profit grew at a rate of 75 per cent year-on-year in 2023 to Tk 3.21 billion, driven by a robust 16 per cent revenue growth with inclusion of a record number of new subscribers.
Following the annual record profit, Robi declared a 10 per cent cash dividend for 2023, highest since its listing.
Amid the ongoing dollar crisis, Robi received a $55 million loan from its parent company Axiata Group last year, a Malaysian multinational telecommunications conglomerate, in a precautionary measure against any potential impact.
Meanwhile, the recent shutdown and Internet blackout centering on quota reform movement severely affected the telecom operators, including Robi, as mobile Internet and mobile data remained unavailable for more than 10 days since July 18, which industry insiders say, will have a negative impact on their profit in coming quarters.