DHAKA: Robi Axiata Ltd. (Robi) announced its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30.
It has continued investing aggressively to fast-track its 3.5G network expansion and improving 2.5G network quality for better customer experience both in voice and data services.
Total CAPEX investment made since inception amounted to BDT 175.2 billion inclusive of BDT 2.9 billion CAPEX investment in the third quarter of 2016. The company has network coverage in all 64 districts in Bangladesh through 8,700+ sites, of which over 5,200 are 3.5G sites, said a press release.
Growth momentum of mobile services was further impacted negatively by more expensive mobile services due to additional 1 percent surcharge and 2 percent supplementary duty on all mobile services. After biometric re-registration, Robi’s subscriber base stands at 23.8 million, representing 20.5 percent of industry subscriber market share.
During the period, YTD Q3 16 total revenue contracted by 1.0 percent compared to the same period of last year, data revenue had registered encouraging growth of 34.1 percent. Data revenue growth was propelled by significant investment in network coupled with innovative affordable data offerings to drive 3.5G and 2.5G data usage.
Robi achieved operating profit (EBITDA) margin of 32.7 percent in YTD percent 3 16. Margin is 4.0pp (percentage point) lower than the same period of previous year as a result of higher network operating expenses from continued network investment and intense price competition. Due to continuous investment in nationwide network modernization and increased taxation, Robi is behind the expected profitability.
Robi’s active subscriber base decreased to 23.8 million in Q3 2016 due to deactivation of non-compliant SIMs after bio-metric registration cut-off deadline. QoQ revenue grew by11.5 percent to BDT 13.9 billion amidst intense price competition.
Robi registered Tk 17.6 million PAT in the third quarter impacted by accelerated depreciation resulting from nationwide network modernization especially in Chittagong-Comilla region.
Robi Managing Director and CEO Mahtab Uddin Ahmed said, “We experienced solid mobile revenue growth during the third quarter of 2016. However, SIM deactivation after 31st May 2016 for non-compliant biometric registration SIM has negatively impacted the growth momentum of the business.
Nevertheless, we are continuing to invest towards expansion and modernization of 2.5G/3.5G network across the country to provide a superior mobile services experience to our subscribers, he added.
During the third quarter of 2016 we continued to bring most innovative and affordable product offers in the market. We introduced a simple and need-based complete mobile solution named ‘ACE’ where users can enjoy bundle pack of talk-time, data and SMS along with free whatsapp, facebook and Robi-Yonder music at reasonable price.
Robi also launched its Cloud service for cloud computing and hosting solutions. As a part of corporate responsibility, Robi extended its support towards ‘10 Minutes School’, an online platform that offers comprehensive education content free of cost.
BDST: 1615 HRS, NOV 24, 2016
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