The floor price restriction for shares of Robi Axiata Limited — the second largest telecom operator in the country — is set to be withdrawn on Tuesday, as stated by the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC).
In a directive issued on 6 February, the market regulator said the floor restriction for Robi shares would be removed the day after the record date, scheduled for 18 March.
The floor price is the lowest price set by the securities regulator at which a stock can be traded. In January this year, the commission lifted the restriction for most stocks 18 months after its enforcement.
Currently, Robi shares have been stuck at the floor price of Tk30 each at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).
Robi is recognised as the fifth-largest company in terms of market capitalisation, representing 3.9% of the DSE’s total valuation. Its current total market cap stands at Tk15,714 crore.
Earlier, on 3 March, the floor price was removed for the largest stock, Grameenphone (GP). The following day, the floor was also removed from British American Tobacco (BAT) Bangladesh, the second-largest company at the Dhaka bourse.
After removing the floor restriction, GP shares dropped over 16% to settle at Tk241.2 each, and BAT Bangladesh stocks fell by 17% to Tk430 each. The downfall of the two stocks eroded the benchmark index of the DSE.
Robi’s financials
On 15 February, Robi revealed its financial statement and declared dividends for 2023.
According to the company’s statement, its revenue jumped 16% year-on-year to Tk9,942 crore in 2023, marking the highest ever yearly turnover in its history.
Besides, its net profit stood at Tk321 crore last year, marking a 76% annual growth in net profit.
Robi has declared a 10% cash dividend to its shareholders for the calendar year 2023.
To approve the dividend and the audited financial statement, the multinational company will conduct the annual general meeting on 24 April.
“Robi’s record-setting revenue for 2023 was driven by the supreme confidence our subscribers had in our network,” Rajeev Sethi, managing director and CEO of the company, said in the statement.
The growing confidence led Robi to post the highest number of subscriptions among all operators in 2023, he added.
In 2023, Robi Axiata expanded its subscriber base by adding 43 lakh new users, bringing the total number to 5.87 crores, which constitutes 31% of the country’s overall mobile phone subscriber base.
In the year, it witnessed an 8.9% growth in its data subscriber base, reaching 4.47 crores compared to that in 2022.
Additionally, the 4G subscriber base surged 23.7% year-on-year to 3.57 crores last year.
Earlier, the telecom company had paid a 7% cash dividend for 2022. Robi said its earnings per share was Tk0.61 in 2023, which was 74% higher than that of 2022.
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