Cuts in administrative, tax expenses help Robi boost profit

Key Points:

• Revenue increased 2% to Tk2,018 crore in Jan-Mar quarter
• EBITDA stood at Tk851 crore with 42.2% margin
• Tk107.3 crore Capex investment
• 5.41 crore active subscribers
• 3.97 crore internet subscribers

Robi Axiata Limited – the country's second-largest telecom operator – secured a 16% growth in profit in the first quarter as its administrative and income tax expenses decreased by 35% and 17% respectively.

In a disclosure, the company said its consolidated net profit stood at Tk39.83 crore, which was Tk34.29 crore in the previous year at the same time.

In the January-March quarter of this year, its consolidated revenue also increased 2% to Tk2,018.92 crore.

"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 profit after tax halving for the quarter," Riyaaz Rasheed, Robi's acting chief executive officer and chief financial officer, said in the press release. 

"Due to this unjust tax, our profit in the first quarter was Tk39.8 crore, instead of Tk80.2 crore. The recent successful spectrum auction organised by the telecom regulator was however a very welcome shift towards a business-friendly regulatory regime," he added.

He expressed his hope that the spirit will be reflected in the upcoming budget in the form of a rational taxation regime for the sector.

Robi said in the press release that its 4G leadership position further consolidated in the first three months with 45.9% of its total internet subscribers. Around 73.4% of its subscriber base were data subscribers at the end of March this year, which was the highest in the industry. 

Robi's subscriber base grew by 0.7% compared to last quarter to reach 5.41 crore and compared to the same quarter last year, the subscriber base grew by 4.1%.

The data subscriber base grew by 0.3% compared to last quarter to reach 3.97 crores and compared to the same quarter last year, the data subscriber base grew by 8.3%. The company had 2.48 crore 4G subscribers at the end of March this year.

Earlier, Robi paid a 3% interim cash dividend to its shareholders. The company's total cash dividend for 2021 stood at 5% but its payout is 145% higher compared to its net profit for the year.

Robi shares traded at Tk32.70 on the Dhaka Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

In November 2020, Robi collected Tk523.7 crore through an initial public offering and had decided to invest Tk515 crore of the amount for network expansion.