GP announces highest-ever dividend for 2024

Infographics: TBS

Grameenphone (GP) on Monday (3 February) announced to pay the highest-ever 330% cash dividends or Tk33 per share for the challenging business year 2024.

Already paying an interim dividend of Tk16 per share, it will give further Tk17 for the past year, according to the company statements to shareholders.

Tk4,455 crore in total cash dividends for 2024 will be 22.73% higher than the company's annual net profit. For the first time since 2018, the company is going to pay out more dividends than its annual profit.

Analysts were anticipating an accelerated dividend payout as multinational companies had payout less in 2022 and 2023 for a difficult foreign exchange situation in Bangladesh which eased a lot in 2024.  

GP Chief Financial Officer Otto Risbakk attributed the success to its strong balance sheet that allowed the company to continue its "long-term perspective alongside a lucrative and predictable dividend policy, despite a challenging economic environment."

The Telecom industry's struggles in retaining subscribers and revenue, especially in the second half of the year, was reflected in the top mobile operator's business too.

Its subscriber base dropped to 8.43 crore in December, from 8.53 crore in June. However, the GP subscriber base at the end of the year was still 2.8% bigger than that a year ago.  

Also, the previous quarters' higher revenue helped GP offset a 7.2% year-on-year drop in revenue over the October-December quarter as its yearly revenue dropped by only 0.17% to Tk15,845 crore.

GP CEO Yasir Azman, acknowledging the business impacts of the "rising inflation and continuously decreasing GDP," said, "We remain focused on delivering long-term value and stability for our investors."

He also promised attractive dividends as part of GP's strategy to provide shareholders with consistent and reliable returns, even in the face of short-term market fluctuations.

In the October-December quarter, GP's average monthly revenue per user dropped to Tk148, from Tk165 in the April-June period.

Otto Risbakk blamed a challenging macroeconomic environment and high inflation that resulted in the cautious spending of users, especially in the data segment.

In June last year, some 4.97 crore or 58.3% of the GP subscribers were active data users. In December it dropped to 4.8 crore or 56.9% of the total subscribers.

Monthly mobile data consumption per GP user was 7.56 GB in the April-June quarter. Due to the internet shutdown during the July uprising, it dropped to 6.03 GB and recovered to 6.86 GB at the end of the year.

Otto Risbakk, however, is hopeful about a gradual improvement in the situation when the economy recovers, mobile data usage surges and handset penetration resumes, according to GP statements.

Almost all the costs, except for finance costs, increased in 2024.

Despite a yearly decline in operating and pre-tax profits, a lower income tax expense helped GP post a higher net profit of nearly Tk3,631 crore for 2024, which was Tk3,307 crore in the previous year.

Otto Risbakk thanked the impact of some one-off factors in the fourth quarter without elaborating.

Yasir Azman reiterated his focus on sustainability, innovation, and harnessing artificial intelligence as they "are on top of the company's strategic agenda."

"We are integrating sustainability into every aspect of our supply chain to ensure that standards are met across the board," he said, adding that the company's staggering 77.5% spending towards its suppliers was with a commitment to reduce carbon footprint.

GP shares having a face value of Tk10 gained 0.47% to close at Tk338.6 apiece on the Dhaka Stock Exchange on Tuesday (4 December).