Robi under BSEC review following poor performance

Share market regulator Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has decided to review financial statements and other documents of the Robi Axiata following a poor financial performance, while its competitors fared well.

The commission wants to identify the reasons behind why the second-largest telecom operator of the country failed to do better.

BSEC commissioner Dr Sheikh Shamsuddin Ahmed told The Business Standard (TBS), "We have seen that the Robi did not perform well though it does the same business and enjoy opportunity like the Grameenphone. That is why the commission wants to understand why the telecom operator could not perform well by examining the submitted documents of the company."

Robi Axiata Limited has reported a 25% year-on-year drop in profit due to a 64% increase in administrative cost including salaries in the second quarter of 2021.

In the April-June quarter, its consolidated net profit stood at Tk46.63 crore and earnings per share at Tk0.09, which was Tk58.37 crore and Tk0.12 respectively at the corresponding period a year ago.

During this period, its consolidated revenue increased by 15% to Tk2,030.83 crore compared to the same period of the previous year.

At the end of the first half of this year, its consolidated revenue was Tk4,011.83 crore, profit Tk80.93 crore and earnings per share Tk0.15.

In the first quarter, it had paid a 3% interim cash dividend to its shareholders, while the company had refrained from issuing any dividend for the year that ended on 31 December 2020.

On the other hand, the Grameen Phone has declared a 125% cash dividend as interim for the first half of this year.

During this period, its revenue was Tk7,057 crore and net profit Tk1,741 crore, which was Tk6,923 crore and Tk1,795 crore respectively in the previous year at the same time.

In the Dhaka Stock Exchange Robi's share is being traded at Tk43.30, while the Grameenphone's share traded at Tk369.30 each on Tuesday.