Robi registers decent profit powered by 4G data leadership in first quarter
Robi's 4G leadership position further consolidated in the first quarter of 2022 with 45.9% of its total subscribers being 4G users.
Around 73.4% of Robi's subscriber base were data subscribers in Q1'22, which was the highest in the industry. Robi disclosed this information while releasing its financial results for Q1'22.
Robi ensured 98.2% population coverage of its 4G network with 14,891 4G sites, reads a press release.
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In Q1'22, each Robi data subscriber consumed 4.6 GB data every month on an average. Compared to the same quarter last year, data usage per subscriber, per month, increased by 37.1%.
Robi's subscriber base grew by 0.7% compared to last quarter to reach 5 crore 41 lakhs at the end of Q1'22. Compared to the same quarter last year, subscriber base grew by 4.1%.
Data subscriber base grew by 0.3% compared to last quarter to reach 3 crore 97 lakhs. Compared to the same quarter last year, data subscriber base grew by 8.3%. The company had 2 crore 48 lakhs 4G subscribers at the end of Q1'22.
Robi raked in Tk2,018.9 crore revenue in Q1'22. Compared to last quarter, the company's revenue declined slightly by 1.3%, but compared to the same quarter last year, revenue grew by 1.9%.
Voice revenue declined slightly by 1.6% compared to last quarter, while voice revenue grew by 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Data revenue grew by 1.6% compared to last quarter, while the same declined by 4.6% compared to same quarter last year.
EBITDA in Q1'22 grew by 9% compared to the last quarter to reach was 851.1 crore taka with 42.2% margin. Compared to the same quarter last year, EBITDA grew by 4.9%. EBITDA margin grew by 4 percentage point compared to last quarter, while compared to the same quarter last year, the margin grew by 1.2 percentage point.
Robi ended Q1'22 with Tk39.8 crore profit after tax (PAT). The company's earnings per share (EPS) in Q1'22 was 0.08 taka. If the 2% minimum turnover tax were removed, PAT could have been 80.2 crore and EPS could have also been doubled to Tk0.15, added the statement.
Robi paid Tk957.9 crore to the Government exchequer in Q1'22, which was 47.4% of the total revenue for the quarter. The company made capex investment of Tk107.3 crore in the same quarter.
Robi's Acting CEO and CFO, M. Riyaaz Rasheed said: "While we are happy with our financial performance, we continue to observe that the taxation regime is undermining our growth potential. Especially, in connection with the 2% minimum turnover tax, we saw our PAT literally halving for the quarter. Due to this unjust tax, our PAT in Q1'22 was Tk39.8 crore, instead of Tk80.2 crore.
"The recent successful spectrum auction organised by the Regulator was however a very welcome shift towards a business-friendly regulatory regime. We sincerely hope that the spirit will be reflected in the upcoming budget in the form of a rational taxation regime for the sector."
