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Robi Axiata, a leading telecom operator which is second only to Grameenphone, presented a flat financial performance in 2022 with registering a 1.66 per cent paltry growth in net profit against that in the previous year.
The multinational’s consolidated net profit reached Tk 183.3 crore last year which was Tk 180.3 crore in the previous year.
But defying this slim growth, the company declared a 7 per cent cash dividend to its shareholders for 2022, the highest since its incorporation.
The dividend payout declaration came from its board meeting held Thursday.
The publicly traded company’s earnings per share (EPS) stood at Tk 0.35 for the year ended in December 2022 from Tk 0.34 for the year ended in December 2021.
The telecom operator reported a net asset value (NAV) per share of Tk 12.82 for the year ended on December 31, 2022.
Its net asset value (NAV) per share was Tk 12.64 for till December 2021.
The company’s net operating cash flow per share (NOCFPS) reached Tk 7.12 for 2022 which was Tk 6.22 for the year ended on December 31, 2021.
The company would hold an annual general meeting (AGM) on April 25 where it is expected the shareholders would finally approve the declared dividend.
The company has fixed the record date as March 13 to split dividends among eligible shareholders.
After its capital market listing, the multinational telecom operator had paid dividend for only once which was an interim 3 per cent cash dividend for the year 2021.
The company made its trading debut on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) on December 24, 2020.
Robi shares closed at Tk 30 per share on the DSE trading floor on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the country’s largest mobile phone operator Grameenphone’s net profit also fell by 12.09 per cent year-on-year in 2022 although the multinational’s revenue grew up by 5.12 per cent in the year.
The publicly traded company’s profit fell to Tk 3,009 crore in 2022 which was Tk 3,412 crore the year before.
The telecom operator’s profit got adversely impacted by foreign exchange losses and a negative verdict of legacy litigation last year, according to the company.
GP declared a 95 per cent final cash dividend to its shareholders for the year 2022, the firm already paid a 125 per cent interim cash dividend last year.
Robi Axiata is a joint venture between Axiata Group Berhad of Malaysia and Bharti Airtel of India. Axiata holds a 68.7 per cent stake in the entity, while Bharti owns the remnant 31.3 per cent.
The company commenced operations in 1997 as Telekom Malaysia International (Bangladesh) with the brand name ‘Aktel’.
It was later rebranded as Robi in 2010.
Robi was the first operator to roll out 3.5G services in Bangladesh. It introduced 4.5G services across all 64 districts in 2018.
The company has a paid-up capital of Tk 5,237 crore, while its authorised capital is Tk 6,000 crore.
Sponsors and directors own 90 per cent stake in the company, while the institutional investors hold 1.65 per cent, and the general public 8.35 per cent as on January 31, 2023.
