Robi Axiata, the second-largest telecom operator in Bangladesh, has reported 140 per cent year-on-year higher net profit in the first six months of the current year, driven by reduced operating costs and soaring revenue.
As per its unaudited financial statements published Wednesday, the multinational company made a profit of Tk 66.3 crore in January–June 2023 against Tk 27.6 crore in the corresponding period last year.
Shahed Alam, chief corporate and regulatory officer at Robi Axiata, told The Business Post, “We have minimised operating expenses and put efforts to increase revenue during the time, helping us report higher profits.”
The telecom operator’s earnings per share (EPS) in the January-June period this year rose to Tk 0.13 from Tk 0.05 reported for the same period one year ago.
On the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), Robi shares have been traded at the floor price of Tk 30 each since August last year.
The publicly-traded company has also posted a 5.5 per cent year-on-year jump in its net profit to Tk 42 crore in the first quarter (January-March) of 2023.
In January-March 2023, its earnings per share stood at Tk 0.08, which was the same in the corresponding quarter last year.
The multinational’s consolidated net profit increased to Tk 183.3 crore in the year 2022 from Tk 180.3 crore in the previous year.
Despite a slim growth, the company paid a 7 per cent cash dividend to its shareholders for 2022, the highest since its incorporation.
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 remaining 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.
Sponsor-directors owned a 90 per cent stake in the company, while institutional investors held 1.66 per cent, and the general public held 8.34 per cent as of June this year.
