Robi registers Tk 115m profits in first quarter

Following a loss making streak because of the merger and intense competition, telecom operator Robi turned a corner by registering 115 million taka profit in the first quarter of 2019, reports UNB.

Creation of the largest 4.5G network of the country by the company is clearly giving credence to Robi's image as the leading innovative digital brand.

However, due to the financial implications of implementing IFRS 16 by Robi in January 2019, the slim profit turned into a loss of 246 million taka.

The slender profit margin and EBITDA growth (Without considering IFRS 16 implications) in the first quarter was driven by higher service revenue and cost optimisation initiatives undertaken by the company.

Besides, the strong data and VAS revenue growth indicate that the company's journey towards digitalisation is producing concrete results.

The company saw its revenue grow by 3.7 per cent compared to the previous quarter reaching 18.29 billion taka. Compared to the same quarter last year, the revenue grew by 12.3 per cent.

Compared to the previous quarter, Robi's voice revenue grew by 0.6 per cent and in relation to the same quarter last year, the voice revenue grew by 5.0 per cent.

Robi's subscriber base grew by 1 per cent from last quarter to reach 47.3 million in Q1, 2019, representing 29.6 per cent of the subscriber market share in the industry.

Compared to the same quarter last year, the subscriber base grew by 3.8 per cent in this quarter. At end of Q1 2019, 29 million subscribers were data users, representing 61.3 per cent of its subscriber base.

Without considering the financial implications of implementing IFRS 16, Robi's EBITDA stood at 5.31 billion taka in Q1,'19 with 29.1 per cent margin.

In terms of EBITDA margin growth in percentage point (pp), Robi's EBITDA grew by 1.00 pp (without IFRS 16) compared to the previous quarter and by 11.0 pp (without IFRS 16) compared to the same quarter last year.

Considering IFRS 16 implications, Robi's EBITDA stood at 7.14 billion taka.

Robi made capex investment of 3.04 billion taka in Q1,'19 to further expand its 4.5G network.

As of now, the company has taken a commanding lead in creating the largest 4.5G network of the country by on-airing 7,878 4.5G sites.

The total capex investment made by the company since its inception reached 234.50 billion taka in this quarter; during this period, Robi has paid a paltry 2.90 billion taka to its shareholders in the form of dividend.

With 6.54 billion taka payment to the government exchequer, Robi's total payment to the government exchequer since its inception reached 245.10 billion taka in this quarter.

Commenting on the financial performance of the company, Robi's managing director and CEO Mahtab Uddin Ahmed said: "We are happy to see the company edging above the break-even point following the tough financial situations caused by the merger and intense market competition. The bold decision to go on the offense in the 4.5G market along with a plethora of digital lifestyle initiatives over the recent past are beginning to deliver.

“The continuation of the overwhelming response from customers with regards to porting in to our network using the MNP facility only proves that Robi is standing out in the market as an innovative digital brand. However, much remains to be done in addressing the imbalanced market competition landscape that stymies our growth."