Robi continues to make losses

Robi posted a net loss of Tk 44.40 crore in April-June, extending its losses for the seventh straight quarter, because of inconsistent subscriber base and revenue growth.

The last time the second-largest operator had managed to make a profit was in the July-September quarter of 2016, just before its merger with Airtel.

Since the merger in November 2016, Robi's revenue has grown but failed to secure a net profit, according to the financial statement of Axiata Group, the parent company of the operator. The statement was published yesterday.

Before the merger, the company had been making profit regularly. It registered a profit of Tk 400.4 crore in 2015, Tk 439.6 crore in 2014 and Tk 365.2 crore in 2013.

It incurred a loss of Tk 147.7 crore in the first half of 2018.

Compared to the January-March quarter, Robi's revenue went up 1.6 percent to Tk 1,651.90 crore driven by growth in data revenue, which accounts for 24 percent of its total earnings.

Some 2.66 crore users were accessing internet on Robi's network at the end of the second quarter, consuming 949 megabytes of data every month on an average.

The operator has the largest 4G subscriber base, which helped it boost growth in data revenue, said Robi in a statement.

“The impact of creating the largest 4G network was clearly visible in the second quarter, as it helped ramp up Robi's data revenue growth,” said Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, chief executive officer of the mobile operator.

He said the operator's services related to the football World Cup and Ramadan that coincided with the quarter created much excitement among the subscribers.

Its voice revenue, however, declined.

Customer base narrowed by 2 percent to 4.47 crore at the end of June compared to the first quarter. Average revenue per user (ARPU) also fell.  The ARPU stood at Tk 117 at the end of the second quarter, from Tk 132 in the same period a year ago and Tk 135 in 2016.

The operator attributed the loss, among other reasons, to the extensive investment it has made in expanding the network.

The operator has set up more than 7,000 faster data sites covering 532 out of the country's 544 thanas since getting the 4G licence in February this year.

Robi invested Tk 550 crore as capital expenditure in April-June.

In the quarter, the company contributed Tk 660 crore to the government exchequer in taxes and revenue share.

Since inception in 1997, Robi has paid more than Tk 22,570 crore to the exchequer and remitted Tk 290 crore in dividends to its shareholders.