Bangladesh-based Grameenphone highlighted mobile revenue and data growth in Q4 2021, as its wider LTE network coverage attracted new subscribers.
In an earnings release, CEO Yasir Azman noted its increased capex led to 4G population coverage expanding by 5.9 percentage points year-on-year to 96.8 per cent.
“Throughout the year, we prioritised network rollout and spectrum deployment.”
Azman added Grameenphone stepped-up its transformation initiatives to respond to customers’ changing demands for advanced mobile services.
Net profit fell 21 per cent to BDT8.2 billion ($95.2 million), attributed to one-off gains in finance cost and tax expenses in Q4 2020, and higher capex. Mobile revenue increased 4.2 per cent to BDT36.3 billion.
Mobile ARPU declined 3.1 per cent to BDT142 mainly due to lower voice revenue. Total data usage grew 49 per cent, with average data consumption per user rising 9.6 per cent to 4.3GB a month.
Across the full year, Grameenphone added 4.2 million mobile subscribers for a total of 83.3 million. Data users rose 8 per cent to 44.6 million, with 4G subscribers growing 40 per cent to 27.6 million.
Capex for the full year increased 70.3 per cent to BDT17.2 billion, with the total number of 4G sites up 21.1 per cent to 17,230.
The operator acquired 10.4MHz of spectrum in the 2100MHz and 1800MHz bands in March 2021.
Source: https://www.mobileworldlive.com/asia/asia-news/grameenphone-gains-on-capex-splurge