Stable business performance amidst competitive environment

Oct 18 2012

Third Quarter of 2012 for Grameenphone Ltd. at a glance
  • BDT 2,288 crore revenues
  • 17 lakh new subscriptions with approximately 42% market share
  • Net profit after taxes BDT 321 crores with 14% margin
  • Earnings per share (EPS) of BDT 2.38
  • Investment of BDT 287 crores for network quality enhancement

Grameenphone Ltd. (GP) reported BDT 6,927 crore revenues for the first nine months of 2012 with a 4.6% growth compared to the corresponding period of last year. This growth was mainly contributed by non voice services and wholesale business. Meanwhile, the total revenue for the third quarter of 2012 was BDT 2,288 crores, which is relatively flat compared to the same period of last year.

“A happening quarter when we secured our 2G license for the next 15 years, stagnant business performance due to intensified competition and implementation of regulatory directives with financial implications”, said Tore Johnsen, CEO of GP. He also noted that GP, as a company, has geared up with aggressive acquisition drives, implementing new price plans for superior customer experience and improved market visibility to regain the growth momentum alongwith significant focus on cost efficiency initiatives. With renewed focus on regional market activities, GP distribution network managed to acquire 17 lakh new subscriptions. The company's subscription base now stands at 4.1 crores with approximately 42% market share.

Net profit after taxes for the third quarter of 2012 was BDT 321 crores with 14.0% margin compared to BDT 563 crores
with 24.7% margin of the third quarter of 2011. Lower profit for this period was mainly due to higher acquisition cost, recognition of amortization and interest cost for 2G license fees and loss on foreign exchange. As a result, Earnings per share (EPS) for the third quarter of 2012 stood at BDT 2.38 compared to BDT 4.17 of the same period of 2011. For the first nine months of 2012, EPS was BDT 9.54 compared to BDT 9.18 for the same period of 2011.

GP invested BDT 287 crores during the third quarter of 2012 for network capacity and quality enhancement.  Meanwhile, GP paid BDT 2,463 crores to the national exchequer during the third quarter of 2012 in the form of taxes, VAT and duties and 2G renewal fees.

GP completed the migration of all its customers to the new tariff plans built on 10 second pulse for all voice and IVR related calls independent of all packages and has recently also implemented SIM registration and post-activation process for new connections based on BTRC directives.  Though we got our license renewed on 7 August 2012, VAT rebate mechanism as per the decision of inter ministerial meeting has not been implemented and hearing on GP's court case related to VAT on renewal fees is pending at the Supreme Court.

Regarding the introduction of 3G services in the country, first consultation meeting to resolve industry concerns on the guideline and regulatory condition was held with Ministry of Post and Telecommunications. This dialog and consultation process was highly appreciated by GP as well by the industry.

Corporate Communications Department
Grameenphone Ltd.
Phone: 9882990
 

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