Grameenphone, the number one telecom operator in the country, reported revenue of BDT 114.9 billion for 2016, up 9.6% from last year, according to the release by the company.
The company also experienced a 2.2% growth in users, saw significant growth both in data revenue and voice revenue. The numbers are critical given that telecom is a tight market and quite competitive. We have taken time to break down the important points of the news, albeit two days later.
What’s big deal
- Subscription and traffic revenue (excluding interconnection) grew by 12.0% with growing contribution from data.
- Data revenue grew by 69.7% with 56.1% growth in user and 167.9% growth in volume.
- Voice revenue also grew by 5.1% with healthy development of minutes of usage.
- During the 4th quarter, subscription and traffic revenue (excluding interconnection) grew by 12.2% compared to that of 2015.
User growth
- Grameenphone ended the year with 58.0 million active subscribers, registering a 2.2% growth.
- The company acquired 8.8 million internet users during the period. With this, 42.3% of total subscribers are using Grameenphone internet services.
Money in the bank
- Net profit after taxes for 2016 was BDT 22.5 billion compared to BDT 19.7 billion of 2015.
- Higher revenue and controlled operating expenditure led to a healthy EBITDA (before other items) of BDT 63.8 billion with improved 55.3% margin. Earnings per share (EPS) for the year stood at BDT 16.68.
- Grameenphone secured strong 14.3% earnings growth from solid topline and operational efficiency initiatives. Against 9.6% revenue growth, operating expenditure grew by 6.5% despite significant network expansion. EBITDA (before other items) grew by 13.8% with 2.0 percentage points margin improvement.
Investment
- GP invested BDT 21.1 billion during the year to rollout 3G sites, 2G coverage, capacity enhancement for catering higher volume of data and voice as well as enhancement of IT infrastructure for better product and service offerings.