Grameenphone (GP) rang up Tk 316 crore net profit with earnings per share (EPS) of Tk 2.34 in the first quarter this year.

But the mobile operator's share prices suffered the deepest fall in more than two months following its corporate declaration yesterday.

The 38 percent profit rise in the first quarter from Tk 228 crore net profit in the same period last year was an outcome of the company's internal cost cutting strategy, GP officials said.

The leading cellphone operator also earned the highest-ever revenue of Tk 1,700 crore in the first three months to March 2010, an 8 percent increase fromTk 1,574 crore in the same period of2009.

"It’s the highest-ever revenue earning in the GP history,” Oddvar Hesjedal, chief executive officer of the company, said at a press meet at the Westin Dhaka hotel.

Each GP share plummeted 5.7 percent to Tk 294 on Dhaka Stock Exchange yesterday, as the company's corporate disclosures did not match the investors' expectation.

The EPS of the company—Tk 2.34 — in the first quarter this year was more than that of the same period last year — Tk 1.88 — but is far below the immediate past quarter's Tk 6.44.

Among the six mobile operators in the country, only GP is listed on the bourses.

The fall in GP share also pulled

down the Dhaka stocks with the benchmark index of the premier bourse, DSE General Index, plummeting by 59.14 points, or 1 percent, to 5,534.65.

Hesjedal said increased usage of voice and data service along with the company's internal cost reduction has helped log the profits.

"The profit making growth will hopefully continue as we have taken initiatives to expand business in some areas such as setting up an IT company that can provide services for local and international markets," he said.

Grameenphone IT Ltd, the new venture of GP, started commercial operations on April 1.

GR the market leader in terms of subscriber base, added 645,000 new customers in the first quarter, and now holds 44 percent market share with 23.9 million users as of March 2010.

The company has already declared 60 percent cash dividend for its shareholders for2009, which is equivalent to Tk 6 per share. The dividend disbursement is subject to approval of the shareholders at the annual general meeting of the company scheduled for June 8.

GP yesterday launched 'Investor Relations' web portal in its website to ensure an easy access to relevant information for the shareholders.

Now its shareholding structure is 55.8 percent for Norway's Telenor, 34.2 percent for Grameen Telecom and 10 percent for general and institutional investors.