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    Forex changes takes shine off Robi’s solid performance in Q2’22

    KEY HIGHLIGHTS – Q2’22 (April-June) 

    • 5 Crore 45 lakhs active subscribers
    • 4 Crore 5 lakhs internet subscribers, which is 74.2% of the total subscriber base- the highest in the industry
    • 48.3% of total subscribers were 4G users and 65.1% of data users were 4G users
    • Revenue: 2,105.4 crore taka
    • Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA): 967 crore taka with 45.9% margin
    • Earnings Per Share (EPS): (-) 0.02 taka
    • Capex investment: 483.4 crore taka
    • Profit After Tax (PAT): (-)12.2 crore taka loss
    • Contribution to the Government Exchequer: 1,475.3 crore taka, which is 70.1% of Robi’s total revenue for Q2’22

    Dhaka, 28 July 2022: Despite solid revenue growth and steady rise in subscriber base, drastic changes in forex has undone Robi’s sound performance in Q2’22. In total, Robi lost 172 crore taka in Q2’22 due to devaluation of taka against the US dollar. Robi disclosed this information while releasing its financial results for Q2’22.

    Robi secured 2,105.4 crore taka revenue in Q2’22, but due to changes in forex, ended up losing 12.2 crore taka. Had it not been for the Forex changes, Robi’s PAT for Q2’22 would have been 86.13 crore taka. On the other hand, including Q2’22, Robi’s revenue for the first six months of 2022 reached 4,124 crore taka and profit after tax (PAT) reached 28 crore taka. Were it not for the losses induced by the forex changes, Robi’s PAT figure for the first six months would have been 131.88 crore taka.

    Compared to last quarter, the company’s revenue increased by 4.3%. Compared to the same quarter last year, revenue grew by 3.7%. Voice revenue increased by 4.6% compared to last quarter and by 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Data revenue grew by 3.7% compared to last quarter, while the same declined by 4.5% compared to same quarter last year.

    Robi’s subscriber base grew by 0.8% compared to last quarter to reach 5 crore 45 lakhs at the end of Q2’22. Compared to the same quarter last year, subscriber base grew by 5.2%. Data subscriber base grew by 2.0% compared to last quarter to reach 4 crore 5 lakhs. Compared to the same quarter last year, data subscriber base grew by 7.8%.

    Robi maintained its 4G leadership in Q2’22 with 48.3% of its total subscribers being 4G users. Around 74.2% of Robi’s subscriber base were internet subscribers in Q2’22, which was the highest in the industry, and 65.1% of data users were 4G users. Robi ensured 98.2% population coverage of its 4G network with 14,961 4G sites.

    At the end of Q2’22, the company had 2 crore 63 lakhs 4G subscribers. Compared to last quarter, Robi’s 4G subscribers grew by 6.1%, and compared to the same quarter last year, 4G subscribers grew by 32.4%

    In Q2’22, each Robi data subscriber consumed 5.1GB data every month on an average. Compared to the same quarter last year, data usage per subscriber, per month, increased by 31.3%

    EBITDA in Q2’22 grew by 13.6% compared to the last quarter to reach 967 crore taka with 45.9% margin. Compared to the same quarter last year, EBITDA grew by 13.2%. EBITDA margin grew by 3.8 percentage point compared to last quarter, while compared to the same quarter last year, the margin grew by 3.9 percentage point.

    The company’s earnings per share (EPS) in Q2’22 was (-) 0.02 taka. Had it not been for the Forex changes, Robi’s EPS for Q2’22 would have been 0.16 taka, and the EPS for the first six months of 2022 would have been 0.25 taka.

    Robi paid 1,475.3 crore taka to the Government exchequer in Q2’22, which was 70.1% of the total revenue for the quarter. The company made capex investment of 483.4 crore taka in the same quarter.

    Robi’s Acting CEO and CFO, M. Riyaaz Rasheed said: “Losing our hard-earned profit to the devaluation of taka against US dollar is very painful. Since we rely on international market to source telecom equipment, forex volatility is a major concern for us at the moment. We are also suffering due to the absence of a comprehensive mechanism for price regulation. We strongly believe that there is a win-win opportunity for the customers, the operators, as well as the regulator, with regards to devising a comprehensive price regulation regime. The longer we take to formulate it, the more painful it will be for the smaller operators in this intensely competitive market.”