Robi’s profit squeezed for forex crisis

Mobile phone operator Robi Axiata missed clocking an additional Tk 178 crore in profit in 2022 due to the massive depreciation of the local currency against the US dollar. 

The second-largest mobile operator of Bangladesh saw a 1.3 per cent year-on-year higher profit to Tk 183 crore last year.

But Robi could have made a profit of Tk 361 crore instead of Tk 183 crore, said the company's chief corporate and regulatory officer Mohammed Shahedul Alam. 

The gradual fall of the taka against the US dollar wiped out half of Robi's profit after tax in 2022, he said.

The taka lost its value by about 20 per cent against the American greenback last year owing to the shortage of the US dollar caused by escalated import bills against moderate remittance and export earnings.

Still, the telecom operator's revenue rose 5.5 per cent year-on-year to Tk 8,586 crore last year.

The earnings per share for the company were Tk 0.35 in 2022, up from Tk 0.34 a year earlier, according to the price-sensitive information.

The company, which runs its operation under the brand names of Robi and Airtel, added 8 lakh customers in the year to December. Now, it has 5.44 crore subscribers.

The company's board recommended a 7 per cent cash dividend for its shareholders for 2022 at a meeting yesterday, up from 5 per cent in 2021.

Robi's shares were unchanged at Tk 30 on the Dhaka Stock Exchange yesterday.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, Robi contributed 60.5 per cent of its revenue to the government exchequer. It was around 56 per cent for the whole year.