Grameenphone recovering momentum with strong market execution

FE Team | Published: April 20, 2021 22:14:03

Grameenphone Ltd reported total revenues of BDT 34.81 billion for the three months of 2021, registering a 3.7 per cent annual de-growth.
The company acquired 1.7 million new subscribers during the same period, ending the period with 80.70 million (8 crore 7 lakh) subscribers, a 7.2 per cent year over year growth. 41 .17 million subscribers, or 51.7 per cent of total subscribers, are using internet services, said a statement.
"Several significant milestones were achieved in the first three months of 2021. With the acquisition of 10.4 MHz spectrum, Grameenphone holds 47.4 MHz of spectrum. As the country embarks on 50 years of independence, Grameenphone marks its 24-year-long journey and has reaffirmed its commitment of empowering the nation with Bangladesh's widest 4G/LTE network comprising of 15,590 towers. During the first quarter we acquired 17 lakh subscribers crossing the 8crore milestone, while with a YoY growth of 50.7 per cent, we reached 2.15 crore 4G users." said Yasir Azman, CEO of Grameenphone Ltd.
"With focus on our strengths in market execution, innovation, driving simplification and bringing convenience to customers, we are committed to using our technology expertise in building capabilities and digital enablement. We are also faced with increased volatilities as Bangladesh faces its worst yet wave of COVID-19. Our efforts will continue in devising collaborative solutions in supporting recovery from the pandemic while we will continue to enrich our service propositions and facilitate the country towards growth and digitalization."
"We started 2021 with improved momentumas we continued roll out with 1510 4G sites, strong execution in the market leading to higher subscriber acquisition YoY and 3.4 per cent growth in data users. As we approached the one-year mark of COVID-19 in Bangladesh, the increasing detection rate led to the current strict restrictive measures taken by the government." said Jens Becker, CFO of Grameenphone Ltd. "At the end of the quarter we reported a year over year degrowth of 3.7 per cent in total revenues keeping the EBITDA margin at 62.7 per cent. Net profit after tax for the period stood at BDT890crorewith 25.6 per cent margin."
During the first quarter of 2021, Grameenphone Ltd acquired 10.4 MHz spectrum. Capex investment stood at BDT 3.61 billion (excluding license & lease) for network coverage. Grameenphone's total number of sites stands at 16,852. The company has paid BDT 27.32 billion equaling 78.5 per cent of its total revenues, to the national exchequer in the form of taxes, VAT, duties, fees, 4G license and spectrum assignment in the first three months of 2021.