Robi Axiata, a prominent telecom operator, has reported a remarkable financial performance for the January-March quarter of 2023. The company’s profit has risen by 5.45% year-on-year, reaching Tk 42 crore, while its revenue witnessed a significant growth of over 16.25%, amounting to Tk 2,347.74 crore. Robi attributed this impressive growth to the strong sales of data services, according to a statement released by the company.
Robi CEO Rajeev Sethi expressed confidence in the company’s outlook for the remainder of the year, stating that their strong Q1 performance positions them well for future success. However, Sethi acknowledged certain challenges impacting their profit figures. The 2% minimum tax resulted in a more than 50% reduction in profit after tax for Q1’23, dropping from Tk 89.2 crore to Tk 42 crore. Additionally, a forex loss of 76 crore taka further affected their overall performance. Sethi urged tax authorities to remove the 2% minimum tax in the upcoming budget, aiming to alleviate this pressure.
During the same quarter, Robi experienced notable growth in voice revenue, up 14.5% year-on-year, and data revenue, which saw a substantial increase of 17.5%. The company also expanded its subscriber base by 1.2 million, reaching a total of 55.6 million subscribers, representing a 30.2% market share by the end of Q1.