GP profit rises 36pc in Apr-Jun
Grameenphone's net profit rose 36.3 percent year-on-year to Tk 1,080.44 crore in the April-June period, the highest in a single quarter in the operator's history, helped by an unused portion of tax provisioning as well as growth in voice and data revenue.
It had made Tk 640 crore in net profit in the first quarter of 2018. The operator added Tk 290 crore to its actual net profit in the second quarter.
GP had set aside the amount as part of its tax provisioning. It, however, did not need to use the sum, said a top executive of the operator.
Revenue rose to Tk 3,257.50 crore in the quarter riding on huge data and moderate voice revenue growth, up 0.50 percent from the same quarter a year ago. The remaining from the tax provision helped increase the operator's earnings per share to Tk 8 for April-June, up from Tk 4.74 in the first quarter.
GP said the first half of 2018 was challenging because of adverse effects from bad weather and ongoing intense competition.
“Despite this, we were able to report healthy growth and margins,” said Michael Patrick Foley, chief executive officer of GP, in a statement.
The operator crossed the 20 lakh milestone for 4G subscribers in the quarter, said Foley.
“Our network rollout as well as modernisation plan is on track to deliver superior customer experience. Our consolidated voice and competitive data offers are creating positive traction in the market.”
Chief Financial Officer Karl Erik Broten said amidst the challenges, GP was able to end the first half on a positive note. At the end of June, the operator had 6.92 crore active mobile phone subscribers, registering a 5.9 percent growth over 2017. It has 3.45 crore data subscribers, said the statement.
Data use per user increased about 15 percent in April-June compared to the previous quarter on the back of 4G service.
GP invested Tk 2,540 crore for 4G licence, spectrum, technology-neutrality conversion fee and network coverage as well capacity enhancement.
In the second quarter, the operator contributed Tk 4,790 crore to the national coffer.
GP also announced a 125 percent interim dividend for the first half of the year.
