GP’s revenue declines by 3.7pc in Q1 of 2021

Grameenphone, a leading mobile operator, recorded a 3.7 per cent decline in its revenue during the first quarter (January-March) of 2021.

According to the unaudited financial statement, Grameenphone reported total revenues of Tk 3,481 crore for the three months of 2021, registering a 3.7 per cent annual de-growth.

The mobile operator released the data on Tuesday.

As per the statement, earnings per share (EPS) for the period stood at Tk 6.6, while Net profit after tax stood at Tk 890.63 crore in the same period.

Meanwhile, the company acquired 17 lakh new subscribers during the same period, ending the period with 8 crore 7 lakh subscribers, a 7.2 per cent year over year growth. Of the subscribers, 4.17 crore or 51.7 per cent of total subscribers, are using internet services.

Yasir Azman, CEO of Grameenphone Ltd, said, “We are also faced with increased volatilities as Bangladesh faces its worst yet wave of COVID-19. Our efforts will continue in devising collaborative solutions in supporting recovery from the pandemic while we will continue to enrich our service propositions and facilitate the country towards growth and digitalization.”

“We started 2021 with improved momentum as we continued roll out with 1510 4G sites, strong execution in the market leading to higher subscriber acquisition YoY and 3.4 per cent growth in data users. As we approached the one-year mark of COVID-19 in Bangladesh, the increasing detection rate led to the current strict restrictive measures taken by the government.” said Jens Becker, CFO of Grameenphone Ltd.

“At the end of the quarter we reported a year over year degrowth of 3.7 per cent in total revenues keeping the EBITDA margin at 62.7 per cent. Net profit after tax for the period stood at Tk 890 crore with 25.6 per cent margin.”

During the first quarter of 2021, Grameenphone Ltd acquired 10.4 MHz spectrum. Capex investment stood at Tk 361 crore (excluding license & lease) for network coverage.

Grameenphone’s total number of sites stands at 16,852. The company has paid Tk 2,732 crore equaling 78.5 per cent of its total revenues, to the national exchequer in the form of taxes, VAT, duties, fees, 4G license and spectrum assignment in the first three months of 2021.