GP profits soar 78pc

"> Left, Vivek Sood, chief executive of Grameenphone, attends a press briefing to disclose the company's performance in the third quarter of 2013, at Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka yesterday. Photo: GP
Grameenphone's third quarter profits surged 78.13 percent year-on-year to Tk 570 crore mainly on the back of higher revenue from increased traffic.
The figure is also an astronomical jump from the Tk 60 crore recorded during the previous quarter.
The other reasons for the significant jump in profits are lower operating expense induced by lower subscriber acquisition cost from SIM tax reduction, lower consultancy and gains from disposal of GPIT shares, according to the statement from the operator yesterday.
Its revenues in the July-September period stood at Tk 2,500 crore, up 9.4 percent from a year ago.
“Grameenphone managed this growth amid competition, sluggish economic activity, apprehension of political unrest and respite from strong tailwind of Eid festivity,” said the statement.
The mobile operator launched its quarterly results at a press briefing at Sonargaon Hotel in the capital yesterday.
The growth is attributed to increase in traffic, brought about by “attractive” recharge-based campaign and rate cuts. Growth in interconnection minutes, higher device sales and adjacent business also contributed significantly.
The operator added 20.7 lakh users to take the quarter-end subscription base to 4.60 crore.
“I am pleased to present the third
quarter results to our honourable shareholders, where Grameenphone has
managed to be in a forward leaning position with revitalised market machineries to secure the fair share of growth being generated from the market,” Vivek
Sood, the operator's chief executive officer, said.
The carrier, which invested Tk 1,960 crore during the quarter for network upgrade and acquisition of 10 Mhz of 3G spectrum, plans to complete its roll-out of 3G services in Dhaka and Chittagong by next month and 40 percent of the country by March next year.
“I am also excited to begin the new data centric era providing internet for all and enabling people to improve their lives with power of digital communication. With the advent of 3G, this vision will be ever more possible.”
The operator, which happens to be the country's largest taxpayer, paid Tk 3,120 crore during the period to take its total contribution to the national exchequer to Tk 36,700 crore.
The lone listed mobile operator, its earnings per share for the quarter stood at Tk 4.25, an increase from Tk 2.34 a year ago and Tk 3.31 last quarter. Grameenphone shares traded at Tk 183.2 on Thursday.