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    Robi ends Q1’23 with the highest self-care app user base in the industry

    With 55.4% of its total subscribers being 4G users, Robi maintaining leadership in 4G service

    KEY HIGHLIGHTS – Q1’23 (January-March)

    • Self-care app user: 1 crore 47 lakhs 50 thousand- highest in the industry
    • 58% of subscribers use smartphones, out of which, 45% of smartphone user base use self-care app
    • 41.6% of total recharge done digitally
    • 5 Crore 56 lakhs active subscribers representing 30.2% of subscriber market share
    • 4 Crore 21 lakhs internet subscribers, which is 75.8% of the total subscriber base
    • 55.4% of total subscribers were 4G users and 73.1% of data users were 4G users
    • Revenue: 2,347.7 crore taka
    • Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA): 1,051.6 crore taka with 44.8% margin
    • Earnings Per Share (EPS): 0.08 taka
    • Capex investment: 215.9 crore taka
    • Profit After Tax (PAT): 42 crore taka
    • Contribution to the Government Exchequer: 1,103.8 crore taka, which is 47% of Robi’s total revenue for Q1’23

    Dhaka, 14 May 2023: Robi’s credential as a digital company got a major boost as the company clocked up the highest single app user base in the industry- 1 crore 47 lakhs 50 thousand, at the end of Q1’23. Robi’s digital transformation journey continued to gather momentum with digital recharge contributing 41.6% of the company’s total recharge in Q1’23.

    Robi’s digital supremacy is reflected in the fact that 58% of its subscribers were using smartphones (whereas the industry average is only around 50%); moreover, 45% of smartphone users were using the company’s self-care app, My Robi and My Airtel.

    With 55.4% of its total subscribers being 4G users, Robi continued to maintain leadership in 4G market. This is the highest proportion of 4G users among all the operators in the industry. Robi ensured 98.4% population coverage of its 4G network with 15,844 4G sites.

    In terms of data users, around 76% of Robi’s total subscribers were internet subscribers in Q1’23 (Highest percentage of data users in the industry), and 73.1% of data users were 4G users. Robi data subscribers consumed 6.23GB data every month on an average in Q1’23. Compared to the same quarter last year, data usage per subscriber, per month, increased by 34.8%.

    Unfortunately, due to forex loss, and high taxation, especially, 2% minimum tax, Robi’s leadership position as a digital company was not fully reflected in its profit after tax (PAT) for Q1’23; PAT for the quarter stood at 42 crore taka.

    However, compared to last quarter, Robi’s revenue shot up by 4.1% in Q1’23 to reach 2,347.7 crore taka, while compared to the same quarter last year, it grew by 16.3%.

    Voice revenue increased by 5.2% compared to last quarter and by 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

    Data revenue grew by 3.4% compared to last quarter, while the same increased by 17.5% compared to same quarter last year.

    Having added 12 lakhs subscribers, Robi’s subscriber base reached 5 crore 56 lakhs, representing 30.2% of the subscriber market share at the end of Q1’23.

    Data subscriber base grew by 2.5% compared to last quarter to reach 4 crore 21 lakhs. Compared to the same quarter last year, data subscriber base grew by 6.1%.

    Robi’s 4G subscriber base reached 3 crore 8 lakhs by end of Q1’23. Compared to last quarter, 4G subscriber base grew by 6.6%, and compared to the same quarter last year, it grew by 24%.

    EBITDA in Q1’23 de-grew slightly by 1.4% compared to the last quarter to reach 1,051.6 crore taka with 44.8% margin. Compared to the same quarter last year, EBITDA grew by 23.6%. The company’s earnings per share (EPS) in Q1’23 was 0.08 taka.

    Robi paid 1,103.8 crore taka to the Government exchequer in Q1’23, which was 47% of the total revenue for the quarter. The company made 215.9 crore taka capex investment in the same quarter.

    Highlighting Robi’s digital transformation journey, Robi’s CEO, Rajeev Sethi said: “We are very pleased to see that our digital journey is accelerating in every possible way. Highest self-care app user base, highest percentage of 4G user base, highest percentage of data user base are clearly indicating that Robi is way ahead when it comes to positioning itself as the leader for the digital future.”

    Reflecting on the company’s financial performance, Rajeev said: “With a strong performance in Q1’23, we feel Robi is well poised for the remaining part of the year. Unfortunately, due to factors beyond our control, our PAT continued to struggle to fully reflect our robust performance. Due to 2% minimum tax, our PAT more than halved in Q1’23; which meant, instead of being 89.2 crore, our PAT was 42 crore taka. Besides, forex loss of 76 crore taka also worked as a spoiler for our performance. We urge the tax authority to remove the 2% minimum tax from the industry in the upcoming budget to ease the pressure for us.”

    He also noted that heavy investment has already make significant improvement in the quality of service enjoyed by Robi subscribers. Going forward, quality of service is going to get even better as Robi is set to continue heavy investment in future.