GP's revenue up by 14pc in nine months

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FE Report
Grameenphone's revenue grew by 14 per cent during the first nine months ending September 2010 to Tk 55.15 billion.
The country's largest mobile phone company disclosed this Saturday at a press conference held at a local hotel in the city.
The revenue came in the form of voice as well as interconnections, Oddvar Hesjedal, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Grameenphone told the reporters.
He also said data revenue also has contributed to this consistent revenue growth in the first nine months.
The company added 6.7 million new customers during the last nine months of the year.
Currently, Grameenphone's total subscribers stand at 28.7 million, holding on to the market leadership with 44 per cent share of the mobile phone market.
The company's revenue grew by 17 per cent in the third quarters of the calendar year to Tk 1.93 billion.
Officials said the net profit after tax for the first nine months was Tk 7.74 billion against Tk 6.52 billion during the same period in 2009.
However, the company's EPS (earnings per share) for the first nine months stood at Tk 5.73 compared to Tk 5.37 for the corresponding period of the last year.
Grameenphone CEO said SIM tax has been hindering the digitalisation process of Bangladesh. The levy has also affected the profitability of the industry, he added.
The company declared interim cash dividend at 35 per cent for the year 2010 based on the half yearly performance of the company for the same year.
The shareholders registered before the record date of November 2 of this year will be entitled for this dividend.
The company invested Tk 4.46 billion during the first nine months mainly for improvement of network quality and data capacity enhancement.
The company contributed Tk 28 billion, nearly 50 per cent of the company's total revenue, to the government during the period. However, it paid Tk 6.97 billion in corporate taxes during the period.