Grameenphone Ltd (GP) reported Tk 47.4 billion revenues for the first half of 2013, a 2.2 percent increase from the first half of 2012.GP managed to deliver this growth amid intense market competition, political unrest and inclement weather across the country.
However, earnings per share (EPS) for the first half of 2013 stood at Tk 3.78 compared to Tk 7.16 of the same period of 2012.
For the second quarter of 2013, EPS was Tk 0.43 compared to Tk 3.31 for the second quarter of 2012.
The Board of Directors has declared interim dividend in cash at the rate of 90 percent of the paid up capital (Tk 9 per share of Tk 10 each) for the year 2013 out of the provisional net profit of the company for the half year ended at 30 June 2013 and retained earnings up to 31 December 2012.
GP Chief executive Officer (CEO) Vivek Sood and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Fridtjof Rusten jointly came up with the business disclosure at a function held at city’s Sonargaon Hotel.
The growth is attributed to attractive campaign driven usage, continued increase in non voice revenues, higher device sales, adjacent business and one-time recognition of deferred SIM replacement revenue, the officials said.
The total revenue for the second quarter of 2013 was Tk 23.9 billion, up by 3.2 percent from the same period of 2012.
During the quarter, GP added 2.2 million subscriptions, taking the quarter-end subscription base to 43.9 million representing approximately 42 percent subscription market share.
“I’m pleased to present the half yearly results to our shareholders, where GP managed to turn around the market with geared up growth momentum which got stalled during 2012,” said Vivek Sood.
He added, “Customer centric and value driven market initiatives in accordance with enthusiastic and strong field presence helped GP in our achievements. We now have regained the strong foothold and are positioned to stay competitive in coming periods.”
Net profit after taxes for the first half of 2013 was Tk 5.1 billion with 10.8 percent margin compared to Tk 9.7 billion with 20.8 percent margin of the first half of 2012.
The officials said decline in profit for this period was mainly due to higher corporate tax imposed on listed mobile companies and increased market spending, partly offset by lower subscriber acquisition cost for SIM tax reduction.
GP invested Tk 3.3 billion during the first six months of 2013 on its superior network ensuring widest coverage and highest quality to serve the customers across the country.
With this, GP’s cumulative investment since inception stands at Tk 216.8 billion.
GP paid Tk 26.6 billion to the national exchequer during the first half of 2013, which sums up the accumulated contribution to the national exchequer to Tk 335.4 billion.
On account of corporate tax, GP paid Tk 8.9 billion during the first half of 2013, which was Tk 0.5 billion higher compared to the same period of last year. – UNB
