Special Correspondent: The country's largest mobile phone operator, Grameenphone, on Tuesday declared a 170% final cash dividend to its shareholders for 2024 through the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).
The top firm, in terms of market capitalisation, has already paid a 160% interim cash dividend. The total dividend stood at 330% cash which was 122.73% of its total profit.
The multinational company reported a profit of Tk 3,630 crore in 2024, marking an almost 10% year-on-year growth. The telecom operator reported earnings per share (EPS) of Tk 26.89, up from Tk 24.49 the previous year, according to a disclosure on the DSE. Its net operating cash flow per share rose to Tk 45.91, compared to Tk 44.88 in 2023.
To approve the dividend and audited report, GP will conduct an AGM on 23 April this year. The record date is 26 February.
GP paid a 125% dividend in the previous year.
Grameenphone paid its lowest dividend for shareholders for 2023 in thirteen years, despite the company's net profit rising by 9.87% to Tk 3,306 crore.
This publicly traded company declared a 125% cash dividend to its shareholders for the year that ended on December 31.
The dividend amount was 220% in the previous year. The multinational company's net profit rose to Tk 3,306 crore last year, which was Tk 3,009 crore the year before, according to the financial statement.
Grameenphone reported a net profit of Tk 755.36 crore for the July-September quarter of 2024, reflecting a 1.1% increase from Tk 747.15 crore in the same period last year.
The company faced a 3.8% year-on-year decline in revenue, with total earnings for the quarter reaching Tk3,954 crore, down from Tk4,110 crore in the same period the previous year. At the end of the third quarter, Grameenphone's earnings per share (EPS) stood at Tk5.59, compared to Tk5.53 in the previous quarter.
For the January to September period of 2024, its revenue was Tk12,110 crore, up from Tk11,845 crore a year ago. During this period, its EPS was Tk21.88, and its net asset value per share was Tk42.77 at the end of September 2024.
The company reported a total subscriber base of 84.6 million at the end of the third quarter, with 58.3% of Grameenphone's total subscribers - 49.3 million - using internet services, according to a press statement.
The company reported a total of Tk 39.3 billion in revenue for the first three months of 2024, registering a growth of 5.3% from the same period of 2023.
In the first three months, the Company acquired 1 million new subscribers, reaching 83 million total subscribers at the end of the first quarter. Some 55.8% of Grameenphone's total subscribers, or 46.3 million, are using internet services.
In the first quarter of 2024, the Grameenphone made a strong start to the year driven by continued focus on strategic network investment and industry-first initiatives, navigating the macroeconomic climate.
Following the dividend declaration for 2024, its share rose by 0.47% to reach Tk 338.60 on the Dhaka bourse on Tuesday.
