Grameenphone Ltd, the country's leading telecom operator, earned revenues worth about Tk. 102.7 billion in the year 2014 registering a growth of 6.3 per cent as compared to that in the previous year.
"Despite competitive intensity and reduction of international incoming call charges, we could manage to consolidate our position as the leading mobile operator," said the newly appointed Grameenphone CEO Rajeev Sethi while disclosing the latest financial positions in a press conference on Monday.
The company's revenue from services exhibited a 5.9 per cent growth on year-to-year along with 14.1 per cent growth in customer equipment and others. Growth in service revenue was mainly driven by data and Value Added Services (VAS), said the GP chief, who was assisted by the Chief Financial Officer Dilip Pal. The service revenue growth, however, faced some headwind from reduction in international call termination rates, said the senior executives of the top mobile company.
During the year, GP received some 4.4 million new subscribers, taking the year-end subscription base to 51.5 million. With this 9.3 per cent growth in subscriber against industry growth of 5.8 percent, GP managed to improve its market share by 1.4 percentage point to 42.8 per cent. Strong and vibrant presence in the market amidst competitive environment contributed to reach this position, said the official who attended the meeting
"We achieved two monumental milestones -- crossing 50 million subscriber base and Tk 100 billion revenue benchmark -- in 2014", said the CEO. "During the year, we managed to consolidate our position as the leading mobile operator and have taken ambitions to excel further in 2015," said Rajeev Sethi. "Structured approach of building on our strengths, applying the right mindset and executing our strategy will further contribute to adding value for our shareholders," hoped the CEO.
Rajeev Sethi, however, expressed his concern over some of regulatory issues and conditions imposed by the government in case of participation in the next spectrum auction. He urged the government to ensure a non-discriminatory and transparent auction process, so all the operators can take part in the auction.
Held at a local hotel, the conference was also addressed among others by Grameenphone's Head of Internal Communications Syed Talat Kamal.
As per financial disclosure, net profit of the company after taxes stood at Tk19.8 billion with 19.3 percent margin compared to Tk 14.7 billion with 15.2 percent margin in 2013.
In the just concluded year, Grameenphone's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) grew by 11.2 percent, improving the margin to 53 percent from 50.7 percent in 2013. Earnings per share (EPS) for 2014 stood at Tk. 14.67 compared to Tk. 10.89 in 2013.
The company invested TK. 15.2 billion during the period for fast track 3G rollout throughout the country, 2G coverage as well as capacity increase and other efficiency enhancement initiatives. Meanwhile, GP, the largest contributor to exchequer paid Tk. 58.9 billion, comprising 57.4 percent of total revenue to the national exchequer during the period in the form of taxes, VAT, duties and license fees.
From cultural enrichment to facilitating digital entrepreneurship and standing beside the underprivileged in society, Grameenphone has also made significant contribution in 2014 towards using connectivity to enlighten and empower society and prepare the nation's youth for a better tomorrow.
The Board of Directors of Grameenphone Ltd. recommended final dividend for the year 2014 in cash at the rate of 65 percent of the paid up capital (Tk. 6.5 per share of Tk. 10 each) based on the decision taken at the Board Meeting held on 8 February 2015. With this, the total cash dividend stands at 160 per cent of paid up capital (Tk. 16 per share of Tk. 10 each) for the year 2014 (including 95 per cent interim cash dividend). The Shareholders as of the record date of 18 February 2015 will be entitled for this final dividend, which is subject to the shareholders' approval at the 18th AGM to be held on 21 April, 2015.
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