Robi logs Tk 11.5cr profit in Q1

Robi started the year with a positive note and logged Tk 11.5 crore profit in the first quarter driven by data revenue growth.

However, according to the new accounting practice of its parent Axiata Group, Robi made a loss of Tk 24.6 crore in the quarter.

Axiata implemented the IFRS 16, an International Financial Reporting Standard promulgated by the International Accounting Standards Board in January.

After recovering from the losses since its merger with Airtel and intense competition in the last couple of years, Robi has now turned into a profitable venture, the operator said in a statement yesterday.

Robi credited its cost optimisation initiatives and strong data and value-added service revenue growth for the turnaround.

Due to the IFRS 16, the earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and net profit figures were impacted, according to the statement.

Robi ended the January-March quarter with 4.73 crore active users, occupying 29.6 percent of the market.

Revenue grew on the back of value-added services, indicating that the company’s journey towards digitalisation is producing concrete results.

The operator’s revenue grew 3.7 percent quarter-on-quarter to Tk 1,829.1 crore in the first quarter. The rate is 12.3 percent year-on-year. Voice revenue grew about 5 percent year-on-year and data revenue was up 32.1 percent.

Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, managing director of Robi, expressed satisfaction as the company was able to reach the break-even point recovering from the tough financial situation caused by the merger and the intense market competition.

The bold decision to go on the offensive in the 4G market along with a plethora of digital lifestyle initiatives over the recent past is beginning to deliver, he said. 

The continuation of the overwhelming response from customers switching to Robi’s network using the mobile number portability facility only proves that the operator is standing out in the market as an innovative digital brand, according to Ahmed. 

“However, much remains to be done in addressing the imbalanced market competition landscape that stymies our growth.”

At the end of the quarter, about 2.9 crore Robi users were connected with data, accounting for 61.3 percent of the operator’s subscriber base.

Robi invested Tk 304.8 crore in the quarter as capital expenditure to expand the 4G service, taking its total investment for establishing the fastest data network to Tk 7,878 crore.

It paid Tk 654.1 crore to the government exchequer in the quarter.