Mobile operator Robi maintained growth in the second quarter of this year despite macroeconomic and mounting regulatory challenges. In the second quarter of 2024, Robi’s income is BDT 2 thousand 604 crores. This income is 3.5 percent higher than the first quarter of this year. And compared to the same quarter last year, the income growth is 2.5 percent.
The operator made the announcement in a press release on Monday announcing its financial results for the second quarter of 2024. It said that at the end of the second quarter, the number of active subscribers of Robi was 5 crore 95 lakh, of which the number of internet subscribers was 4 crore 54 lakh and the number of 4G subscribers was 3 crore 76 lakh. 76.3 percent of Robi’s total active customers are Internet users and 63 percent of users are using 4G services. By adding 325 new 4G sites to the network in the second quarter of 2024, Robi has ensured 4G coverage for 98.93 percent of the country’s population with 17,715 4G sites.
Presenting the information of the financial report, Robi said that the income of Robi at the end of the first six months of the year, including the income of the first quarter of the current year (January-March, 2024), is BDT 5 thousand 120 decimal 2 crores. Robi’s income in the first six months of this year has increased by 4.8 percent compared to the first six months of 2023.
Revenue from voice and internet services increased by 7.7 percent and 2.5 percent respectively in the second quarter compared to the first quarter of 2024. Voice and data revenue grew by 0.6 percent and 12.7 percent in the second quarter of this year compared to the second quarter of last year, while average data usage per subscriber per month increased by 12 percent over the same period.
EBITDA in Q2 2024 (with 47 percent margin) was Tk 1,223 crore. EBITDA was adversely affected by adverse weather conditions such as Cyclone Remal and floods in Sylhet region due to cost increase in network operations and increased SIM tax.
As a result, EBITDA grew by just 0.2 percent compared to the first quarter of 2024 and EBAATDA margin decreased by 1.5 percentage points. EBITDA increased by 14.8 percent in the second quarter of this year compared to the second quarter of last year with a margin increase of five percentage points.
Robi’s capital investment in the second quarter of 2024 is Tk 676.9 crore and the amount of Robi’s capital investment at the end of the first six months of this year including the first quarter of this year is Tk 1 thousand 43.1 crore.
Robi’s profit after tax (PAT) in the second quarter of 2024 was Tk 107.5 crore and in the first six months of the year including the first quarter of this year, Robi’s profit after tax (PAT) reached Tk 214.2 crore. At the same time, the company’s earnings per share (EPS) increased by 0.8 percent to 0.21 percent in the second quarter compared to the first quarter of 2024 and EPS increased by 341.25 percent in the second quarter of this year compared to the second quarter of last year.
In the second quarter of 2024, Robi has deposited Tk 1,689.3 crore in the state treasury, which is 64.9 percent of the total income of this quarter. In the first six months of the year, including the first quarter of this year, Robi has deposited a total of Tk 3,294.9 crores in the state treasury, which is 64.4 percent of Robi’s total revenue during this period.
Commenting on the company’s financial results, Robi’s Managing Director and CEO, Rajeev Shetty said, “We are delighted to continue the growth trend despite economic and regulatory challenges. Consumers’ data usage rates continue to rise. Keeping this in mind, we continue to invest in the network to provide better service to customers. Unfortunately, the introduction of the crawling peg system in currency exchange rate adjustment and increased borrowing costs due to rising interest rates have had a negative impact on profit after tax, despite the focus on efficient cost management.
Welcoming the regulator’s initiative to ensure quality of services (QoS) to customers, Rajeev said, “We are very happy that we are providing better service to customers than expected as per QoS regulation. As a customer-centric company, we are fully committed to working with regulatory bodies to ensure world-class service to them as per existing QoS regulations.”
