Grameenphone shares jump on profit growth

Shares of Grameenphone, the Bangladesh unit of Norway’s Telenor, surged as much as 4.93 percent to its highest intraday level since Jun 26 on the Dhaka Stock Exchange.

The company reported that its earnings per share or EPS increased to Tk 8 in the April-June period from Tk 5.87 taka a year ago, according to an exchange filing.  

However, net operating cash flow per share—a major gauge of the company’s financial health—declined to Tk 20.3 in the January-June period from Tk 23.23 a year ago.

Grameenphone announced Tk 12.5 in cash dividends per share for the half-year that ended on Jun 30.

According to a press release, Grameenphone has experienced a ‘healthy’ growth in subscribers this year, the company said in a statement on Monday. It ended the first half of 2018 with 69.2 million active subscribers, up 5.9 percentage points from the end of 2017. Approximately 34.5 million, or 49.9 percent, of these subscribers are using Grameenphone internet services. The company’s profits also rose to Tk 63.8 billion, up 1.2 percentage points from the same period in 2017.

“First half of 2018 was challenging due to adverse effect from bad weather and ongoing competition intensity. Despite this we were able to report healthy growth and margins”, said Grameenphone CEO Michael Patrick Foley.

“We crossed the 2 million 4G subscriber milestone and our network rollout as well as modernisation plan is on track to deliver superior customer experience. Our consolidated voice and competitive data offers are creating positive traction in the market.”

The company reports that the net profit after taxes for the first half of 2018 was Tk 17.2 billion, with a 26.9 percent margin. Earnings per share during this period (Jan-Jun) was Tk 12.74.

“Grameenphone Ltd reported healthy EBITDA uplift and margin during the period. Amidst the challenges, we were able to end the first half of 2018 on a positive note”, said Grameenphone CFO Karl Erik Broten. “I am also happy to announce that Grameenphone Board of Directors declared interim dividend at the rate of 125 percent of paid up capital.”

Grameenphone has recently invested Tk 25.4 billion to obtain a 4G licence, spectrum, a tech-neutrality conversion fee and to expand network coverage and capacity.