Robi closed the first quarter of this year (Q124) with strong data-led growth momentum, despite macroeconomic challenges and highly competitive market landscape. Industrys highest 4G adoption rate is providing Robi the competitive edge in this regard.
As part of the companys drive to strengthen its network, Robi has added 577 new 4G sites in Q124. Such focused drive to improve quality of services has resulted in Robi having more than 81% of its data customers as 4G users, which is highest in the industry.
Robis revenue for the quarter reached 2,516.2 crore taka following a jump of 7.2% from a year ago. During this period, the data revenue shot up by 25.7% indicating strong data-led growth momentum, says a press release.
Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) went up by 16% over the last year to reach 1,220.2 crore taka in Q124 with a healthy margin of 48.5%. Profit After Tax (PAT) in Q124 stood at 106.7 crore taka with 0.20 taka earnings per share (EPS).
Robis active subscriber base reached 5 crore 81 lakhs at the end of Q124. Its internet subscriber base stood at 4 crore 36 lakhs and 4G subscriber base stood at 3 crore 55 lakhs at that same point in time. More than 75% of Robis active subscriber base is data users- another highest in the industry.
Robi contributed 1,605.5 crore taka to the Government exchequer in Q124, which was 63.8% of the companys revenue for the quarter. The capital investment for Q124 stood at 366.2 crore taka.
Commenting on the business climate, Robi Managing Director and CEO, Rajeev Sethi said: "We are observing that the macro-economic condition and high inflation is impacting the usage patter of our users. This comes on the heels of the stagnant state of smartphone device penetration growth. It may be noted that Bangladesh has a lot of room for growth in terms of data consumption when we look at the neighbouring countries. What we need is immediate policy intervention to unlock the growth potential amidst the trying state of the economy."
Commenting on the companys ongoing drive to improve the quality of services, he added: "The aspect I am particularly proud of is the fact that our network development initiatives are converting into marked improvement in the quality of services experienced by our customers. Within the last one year, we have increased our average data speed by 100%+. What is particularly noteworthy is that this improvement was achieved by ensuring consistent data speed across the network and country-wide coverage. Similarly, our call drop rate has improved remarkably over the last year. We are confident that our sustained focus on enhancing quality of services will only make our data-led growth model more effective in the market."
