No dividends for Robi shareholders despite higher profits

Robi Axiata declared no dividends for its shareholders after its first year on the stock exchange, although it witnessed a rise in profits in 2020.

The country's second largest telecom company's earnings per share rose sevenfold to Tk 0.33 in the year that ended on December 31, 2020. It was Tk 0.04 in the previous year.

Robi's per share net operating cash flow dropped to Tk 5.36 in the last year from Tk 6.1.

A company can hold profits instead of giving dividends when it is in a growth phase, said Tanjina Islam, a stock investor.

Robi is in a growth phase and it has potential to grow further so it may retain profits, she said, adding there was another option to give at least some stock dividend.

Some dividends make stock investors happy, she added.

Today, the multinational telecom company took the decision of giving no dividends in a board meeting.

The company raised the most funds in the history of Bangladesh stock market. It got Tk 523.7 crore last year by offloading 52.37 crore shares at Tk 10 each whereas the next biggest Initial Public Offering was that of its competitor GP -- Tk 486.1 crore.