Country's leading mobile phone operator, Grameenphone reported total revenues of Taka 3,633 crore for first three months (Q1) of 2022, registering a growth of 4.4 percent from Q1 of last year.
In the Q1, the operator acquired 5l lakh new subscribers, reaching 8.37 crore total subscribers. Some 53.2 percent of its total subscribers, or 4.46 crore, are using internet services, growing up by 6.8 percent from the same period last year.
"Our ongoing modernization and transformation journey is starting to show results, benefiting us in building a future-fit company with the right mix of competency, capabilities, tools and partnerships, and will continue to serve as an enabler for our future growth," said Grameenphone CEO Yasir Azman while announcing the quarterly business update.
In a media release, he said the Q1 has been monumental on several occasions for Grameenphone as on 26th March, it has completed 25 years of operations in Bangladesh, marking their contribution to empowering societies and commitment to continue playing role as the digital connectivity partner to Bangladesh. "The Q1 saw an improving top line growth coupled with continued growth in EBITDA as total revenues grew by 4.4 percent Year-on-Year (YoY), amounting to Taka 3,633.52 crore for the quarter," said Jens Becker, CFO of Grameenphone.
He added subscription and traffic revenues for the quarter grew by 4.6 percent from the same period last year, while data revenue grew by 7.5 percent YoY and data usage grew by 76.8 percent.
The Grameenphone CFO revealed that EBITDA for the first quarter grew by 1.7 percent from the same period last year while EBITDA margin stood at 61.1 percent.
Net profit after tax was negatively impacted by modernization cost and currency devaluation, and stood at Taka 809.82 crore declining by 9.1 percent from the same period last year, he said, adding that net Profit margin for the Q1 of 2022 stood at 22.3 percent. During the quarter, Grameenphone invested Taka 391.94 crore for network coverage and expansion. At the end of the quarter, Grameenphone's total number of sites stood at 18,724. The company has paid Taka 2,300 crore equalling 63.3 percent of its total revenues, to the national exchequer in the form of taxes, VAT, duties, fees, 4G license and spectrum assignment during the first three months of 2022.