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    Robi registers decent profit powered by 4G data leadership in Q1’22

    2% minimum turnover tax cuts Robi’s profit after tax by half

    KEY HIGHLIGHTS – Q1’22 (January-March)

    • 5 Crore 41 lakhs active subscribers
    • 3 Crore 97 lakhs internet subscribers, which is 73.4% of the total subscriber base- the highest in the industry
    • Revenue: 2,018.9 crore taka
    • Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA): 851.1 crore taka with 42.2% margin
    • Earnings Per Share (EPS): 0.08 taka
    • Capex investment: 107.3 crore taka
    • Profit After Tax (PAT): 39.8 crore taka
    • Contribution to the Government Exchequer: 957.9 crore taka, which is 47.4% of Robi’s total revenue for Q1’22

    Dhaka, 26 April 2022: Robi’s 4G leadership position further consolidated in Q1’22 with 45.9% of its total subscribers being 4G users. Around 73.4% of Robi’s subscriber base were data subscribers in Q1’22, which was the highest in the industry. Robi disclosed this information while releasing its financial results for Q1’22.

    Robi ensured 98.2% population coverage of its 4G network with 14,891 4G sites. In Q1’22, each Robi data subscriber consumed 4.6 GB data every month on an average. Compared to the same quarter last year, data usage per subscriber, per month, increased by 37.1%.

    Robi’s subscriber base grew by 0.7% compared to last quarter to reach 5 crore 41 lakhs at the end of Q1’22. Compared to the same quarter last year, subscriber base grew by 4.1%.

    Data subscriber base grew by 0.3% compared to last quarter to reach 3 crore 97 lakhs. Compared to the same quarter last year, data subscriber base grew by 8.3%. The company had 2 crore 48 lakhs 4G subscribers at the end of Q1’22.

    Robi raked in 2,018.9 crore taka revenue in Q1’22. Compared to last quarter, the company’s revenue declined slightly by 1.3%, but compared to the same quarter last year, revenue grew by 1.9%.

    Voice revenue declined slightly by 1.6% compared to last quarter, while voice revenue grew by 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Data revenue grew by 1.6% compared to last quarter, while the same declined by 4.6% compared to same quarter last year.

    EBITDA in Q1’22 grew by 9% compared to the last quarter to reach was 851.1 crore taka with 42.2% margin. Compared to the same quarter last year, EBITDA grew by 4.9%. EBITDA margin grew by 4 percentage point compared to last quarter, while compared to the same quarter last year, the margin grew by 1.2 percentage point.

    Robi ended Q1’22 with 39.8 crore taka profit after tax (PAT). The company’s earnings per share (EPS) in Q1’22 was 0.08 taka. If the 2% minimum turnover tax were removed, PAT could have been 80.2 crore and EPS could have also been doubled to 0.15 taka.

    Robi paid 957.9 crore taka to the Government exchequer in Q1’22, which was 47.4% of the total revenue for the quarter. The company made capex investment of 107.3 crore taka in the same quarter.

    Robi’s Acting CEO and CFO, M. Riyaaz Rasheed said: “While we are happy with our financial performance, we continue to observe that the taxation regime is undermining our growth potential. Especially, in connection with the 2% minimum turnover tax, we saw our PAT literally halving for the quarter. Due to this unjust tax, our PAT in Q1’22 was 39.8 crore, instead of 80.2 crore taka. The recent successful spectrum auction organized by the Regulator was however a very welcome shift towards a business-friendly regulatory regime. We sincerely hope that the spirit will be reflected in the upcoming budget in the form of a rational taxation regime for the sector.”