The Grameenphone has reported a declining profit of Tk 453.95 crore in the first quarter of the current year compared to previous year due to increasing tax payments
and other regulatory measures affecting its business.
In the same period of the previous year the profit of GP was Tk 520.36 crore.The earning per share of the company also declined to Tk 3.36 in the Q1 of 2013 which was Tk 3.85 in the same period of the previous year.
The company earned revenue of Tk 2,300.50 crore in Q1 which was Tk 2,300.30 crore in the same period of the previous year.
‘It would not be relevant to compare the figures with last year as we were coming out from a gloomy business situation and made higher revenue in this quarter compared to the last,’ GP’s chief executive officer Vivek Sood said when asked about the issues.
While presenting the Q1 disclosure at Sonargaon hotel on Thursday, Sood said the company faced a number of issues including renewal of 2G license and implication of the 10-second pulse which affected the business last year.
‘Now the scenario is improving in the basic. We have four per cent growth in the subscriber base and revenue growth is 3.8 per cent in this quarter compared to last quarter,’ he said.
The chief financial officer of GP Fridtjof Rusten said the company revenue has increased but the tax and interest payment increased in even higher rates which took the profit down.
‘This is the highest grossing quarter of the company and March was the highest single month revenue as well,’ he said.
When asked if the ongoing strikes and political turmoil helped the GP as people are bound to talk more over phone because of the situation, Sood ssaid, ‘Well the repeated strikes are not welcome at all. A single day strike might increase the call volume but it cannot sustain more. The people do not carry much money in mobiles… so longer strike put them into trouble.’
-With New Age input
