The recent internet shutdown and severe flash flooding in Bangladesh have significantly impacted Robi’s revenue for the third quarter of 2024 (July-September).
The telecom giant reported a 5% revenue decline from the previous quarter, with revenue at Tk 2,474.4 crore —a 2.7% decrease year-on-year (YoY).
Despite this setback, Robi’s total revenue for the first nine months of 2024 reached Tk 7,594.6 crore, showing a modest 2.2% increase from the same period in 2023.
However, profit after tax (PAT) for Q3 reached Tk 188.7 crore, while total PAT for the first nine months soared to Tk 402.8 crore, marking a 134% increase from last year.
While voice revenue for Q3 rose by 3.7% compared to the previous quarter, data revenue fell sharply by 15.5% due to service disruptions. Year-on-year, voice revenue saw a 3.9% increase, while data revenue decreased by 10.3%.
Robi’s active subscriber base dropped to 5.79 crore, with internet users making up 76.5% and 4G users comprising 64% of the total. Despite losing one million data subscribers, Robi retained the industry’s highest proportion of data users.
The company continued to expand its 4G network, adding 249 new sites in Q3, bringing its total to nearly 18,000 sites with 98.96% population coverage.
Earnings per share (EPS) for Q3 stood at Tk 0.36, up by 75.5% from the previous quarter. Cost efficiency measures boosted EBITDA to Tk 1,340.1 crore for Q3, achieving a 54.2% margin.
Capital investment reached Tk 149.2 crore in Q3, totaling Tk 1,192.3 crore for the year.
Robi paid Tk 1,346.1 crore to the Government in Q3, representing 54% of quarterly revenue.
Managing Director and CEO Rajeev Sethi attributed the profitability to strict cost control and commented on the severe challenges from recent floods and an 11-day internet shutdown.
“These events led many data users to leave our network, which affected revenue. However, our cost efficiency programmes helped us close the quarter with positive profit,” he noted.
Robi CEO reiterated Robi’s commitment to supporting regulatory efforts to advance the sector. He expressed cautious optimism about regulatory reforms to strengthen the sector but noted that high taxation, consuming 61% of Robi’s revenue, could impact future network investments.