Bangladesh’s second largest mobile phone operator, Robi, registered 1.6 percent revenue growth in quarter two (Q2) compared to the previous quarter reaching Taka 1,858.7 crore which was 12.4 percent in the same quarter of last year.
Besides, Robi’s voice revenue grew up by 2.8 percent than Q1 which was 9.7 percent in Q2 of the previous year. And for data revenue, the growth is 2.5 percent than Q1, but lower compared to same period of last year as it was 28.9 percent, reports BSS. The financial update of the operator released on Thursday also showed, Robi’s subscriber base grew by 1.3 percent in the quarter to reach 4.79 crore, representing 29.6 percent of the subscriber market share.
But, the growth was 7.2 percent in Q2 in previous year. At end of Q2 in 2019, data users reached at 3.1 crore, representing 62.8 percent of its subscriber base.
Without considering the financial implications of implementing IFRS 16, Robi’s EBITDA stood at 662.6 crore taka in Q2,’19 with 35.6% margin. In terms of EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization) margin grew by 6.6 percentage point (pp) (without IFRS 16) compared to the previous quarter and by 11 pp (without IFRS 16) compared to the same quarter last year. Considering IFRS 16 implications, Robi’s EBITDA stood at Taka 849.9 crore at the end of the Q2 of 2019. On the other hand, Robi’s CAPEX investment declined by 11.7 percent from last quarter reaching Taka 269 crore in Q2 of 2019.
Robi contributed Taka 679.7 crore to the national exchequer in Q2 which amounts to 35.6 percent of the total revenue for the quarter. Robi’s total payment to the national exchequer since its inception reached Taka 25,190 crore in this quarter.
Robi’s Managing Director and CEO Mahtab Uddin Ahmed said: “As feared, the minimum tax of 2% on our total revenue, imposition of direct tax on statutory disallowances (Excess Perquisite and others), and the existing regulatory barriers have had a crippling effect on our financial performance in the second quarter of this year.”
“Going forward, we are very worried that the doubling of SIM tax and the increased supplementary duty will further add to our financial woes as a struggling smaller operator,” he said, adding “Although we registered a healthy growth in revenue in this quarter, the revised taxation regime has emerged as an even bigger obstacle than the market related challenges.”
