Robi ended the second quarter of the year with profit after tax (PAT) of Tk 47 crore. Supported by steadily rising revenue and efficient cost management, the company’s PAT for the first half of the year reached Tk 81 crore. Robi’s financial results for Q2’21 was released on Wednesday at a virtual press briefing event.
Compared to Q1’21, Robi’s 4G subscriber base grew by 7.5 percent in Q2’21, but compared to the same quarter last year, its 4G subscriber base grew by 65 percent. Out of a total subscriber base of 5 crore 18 lakhs, close to 2 crore are 4G subscribers. Besides, 72.4 percent of the company’s subscribers are now data users, which are highest in the industry; per user data usage per month is also rising rapidly- it now stands at 3.9GB, indicating that Robi’s strong 4.5G network is winning the confidence of the digitally savvy customers.
Although the subscriber base grew by 8.1 percent compared to the same quarter last year, compared to the last quarter, Robi’s subscriber base declined marginally by 0.2 percent in Q2’21. Robi’s subscriber market share stood at 29.4 percent at the end of Q2’21.
Despite the pandemic related lockdown, Robi’s revenue reached Tk 2,031 crore following a rise of 2.5 percent in Q2’21, compared to the last quarter. Compared to the same quarter last year, Robi’s revenue rose by 15.2 percent. Voice revenue grew by 1.4 percent in Q2’21, compared to the last quarter, but compared to the same quarter last year, voice revenue grew by 13.7 percent.
Data revenue on the other hand have been speeding up at a faster rate with 3.6 percent growth in Q2’21, compared to the last quarter. Compared to the same quarter last year, Robi’s data revenue grew steeply by 21.9 percent.
Robi’s EBITDA in Q2’21 stood at Tk 854 crore, following a rise of 5.2 percent compared to the last quarter, but compared to the same quarter last year, EBITDA declined by 3.2 percent. EBITDA margin at the end of Q2’21 stood at 42.1 percent.
The company’s earnings per share (EPS) at the end of Q2’21 reached 0.09 taka, following a rise of 36 percent compared to last quarter, compared to the same quarter last year, the underlying EPS growth rate was 17.8 percent. Steadily rising EPS is the result of organic EBITDA growth.
Robi made capex investment of Tk 584 crore in Q2’21 to expand its 4G network. The company had 13,545 4G sites at the end of Q2’21 ensuring 98 percent population coverage; it was the first company to deploy 4G technology in 100 percent of its network. Robi paid Tk 1,138 crore to the Government exchequer which was 56 percent of its revenue for the quarter.