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GP profit narrows in Jan-Mar

Staff Correspondent
04 May 2023 00:00:00 | Update: 03 May 2023 23:55:10
GP profit narrows in Jan-Mar

The country’s biggest network services provider Grameenphone suffered a 3.8 per cent year-on-year profit decline in the January-March quarter of the current calendar year.

The listed multinational firm reported Tk 779.12 crore in its net profit in the first quarter this year against Tk 810.18 crore in the same quarter last year.

The large-cap company, however, witnessed a 2.8 per cent year-on-year growth in its revenue to Tk 3730 crore in the January-March quarter this year.

The company’s earnings per share (EPS) dropped to Tk 5.77 for the first quarter of 2023 from Tk 6.00 for the same quarter last year.

Meanwhile, its net operating cash flow per share (NOCFPS) was Tk 12.97 for this year’s January-March quarter, against Tk 12.52 for the same quarter last year.

Despite the challenging economic situation, Jens Becker, chief financial officer of Grameenphone said the company continued to deliver a solid financial performance in the first three months this year, with eight consecutive quarters of growth in topline and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).

Our year-on-year data revenue grew by 14.2 per cent in the first quarter, driven by higher usage, which was the key factor driving the growth in subscription and traffic revenue, Becker stated.

The largest market-cap company had revenues worth Tk 15,040 crore last year.

However, due to a regulatory ban on the sale of subscriber identity modules (SIMs) during the second half of last year, the telecom operator’s subscriber base dropped by 5.12 per cent YoY, taking it to 7.91 crore at the end of 2022.

The company paid a total 220 per cent cash dividend to its shareholders for 2022, accounting for 98.72 per cent of the year’s total profit.

Grameenphone invested Tk 6900 crore in capex (excluding license, lease, and ARO) in the current year’s first three months, focusing mainly on the 4G network, coverage expansion, and spectrum deployment.

The company paid Tk 2400 crore, equal to 64.1 per cent of its total revenues, to the national exchequer in taxes, VAT, duties, and other fees during the first three months of 2023.

Yasir Azman, chief executive officer (CEO) of Grameenphone said the company’s focus on continuous network investment had resulted in significant progress through spectrum and site rollout.

The company had doubled fibre connectivity and rolled out over 20,000 total sites so far, laying the foundation for a future-ready data network that provides seamless connectivity across the country and delivers a superior network experience for its customers, he added.

Grameenphone in the first three months of 2023 acquired 1 million new subscribers, taking the total subscriber base to 81 million at the end of the first quarter.

Earlier, the country’s telecom regulator outlawed the sale of GP SIM cards on June 29 last year, citing the operator’s subpar service, including an elevated call drop rate. However, the ban was lifted on January 3, 2023.

Grameenphone in 2021 experienced an 8.22 per cent decrease in net profit, equivalent to Tk 305.8 crore, bringing the total profit to Tk 3,413 crore, down from Tk 3,719 crore in the previous year.

The company’s earnings per share based on comprehensive income also decreased from Tk 27.54 in 2020 to Tk 25.28 in 2021.

The majority of Grameenphone shares are owned by Norway-based Telenor, holding a 55.8 per cent stake, while local firm Grameen Telecom owns 34.2 per cent of the company’s shares.

Institutional and general investors hold the remaining 10 per cent of the company’s shares.

Listed on the Dhaka bourse in 2009, the company has a paid-up capital base of Tk 1,350 crore.

GP shares closed at Tk 286.60 per share on the DSE on Wednesday.

 

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