JAKARTA, FEBRUARY 5th , 2025 – PT XL Axiata Tbk (XL Axiata) successfully achieved solid performance growth throughout 2024. The company's revenue increased by 6% compared to the same period last year (YoY), reaching Rp 34.40 trillion. This revenue growth subsequently drove EBITDA to Rp 17.88 trillion, grew 13% YoY, with an enhanced EBITDA margin of 52%. XL Axiata's net profit also increased to Rp 1.85 trillion, representing a 45% YoY rise.
By the end of 2024, XL Axiata had successfully increased average revenue per user (ARPU) to Rp 43 thousand. This growth coincided with a 9% YoY increase in data traffic, which reached 10,547 petabytes, bringing data and digital service income contribution to 92% of total revenue. Meanwhile, data traffic increased due to a solid, high quality customer base of 58.8 million.
Dian Siswarini, President Director, and CEO of XL Axiata, stated, "We navigated through 2024 a year loaded with both national and global economic challenges with a solid performance, defined by continuous revenue growth as well as double digit growth in EBITDA and net profit. The improvement of digital facilities, network infrastructure quality, and the use of appropriate technologies across all business lines were key to our success. These efforts not only improved service quality but also considerably increased data traffic.
Dian added that the company's outstanding growth in 2024 was also due to diligent efficiency improvements across all business divisions. One of the primary actions taken was to optimise sales and marketing expenses, which were effectively lowered by 15%. Furthermore, infrastructure expenses were reduced by 2% as the company concentrated on increasing site profitability and developing a more efficient and effective network strategy. As a result, XL Axiata was able to keep OPEX growth below revenue growth, which is critical for maintaining innovation and adjusting to challenges.
Regarding the success of reduction in sales and marketing expenses, XL Axiata strongly encouraged the usage of digital applications, specifically MyXL and AxisNet. By the end of 2024, these applications had a total of 33.1 million monthly active users, an increase of 100% over the previous three years. The increase in monthly active users of MyXL and AxisNet is a direct outcome of XL Axiata's ongoing innovation and dedication to addressing customer expectations by executing a customer experience (CX) focused digital strategy based on data analytics.
The approach of maximising the use of digital applications enables XL Axiata to invest in high value areas while simultaneously building a strong network to suit the demands of various customer segments. XL Axiata can use data analytics to properly evaluate key performance indicators (KPI) across all elements of customers, marketing campaigns, and loyalty. This allows the company to develop effective strategies for addressing challenges and capitalising on opportunities.
With increased utilisation of the MyXL and AxisNet applications, the company gained an enhanced comprehension of consumer demands, preferences, and behaviour. That allows XL Axiata to provide customers with more accurate, timely, and effective offers.
XL Axiata's Net Promoter Score (NPS) data continues to improve significantly. This increase not only encourages the use of services, but it also contributes to increased revenue. XL Axiata is committed to continue this strategy through 2025 and beyond.
XL Axiata's financial status remains healthy as of the end of December 2024. The corporation has a gross debt of Rp 12.5 trillion and a net debt of Rp11.1 trillion. The net debt to EBITDA (including finance leasing) ratio stands at 2.5x, indicating cautious debt management. XL Axiata has no foreign denominated debt, which adds stability to financial management. Of the total loans, 53% have fixed interest rates and 47% have fluctuating interest rates, reflecting a prudent diversification of the financing structure.
Furthermore, the company's free cash flow (FCF) is healthy, having increased by 20% to Rp 10.5 trillion. This highlights XL Axiata's commitment to long term liquidity and growth.
Acceleration of FMC services
The year 2024 has been a monumental year for XL Axiata in regards to strengthening its Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) services business, as evidenced by the continued growth of XL Satu service customers and the addition of fixed broadband (FBB) customers from First Media following the acquisition of Link Net in 2022.
The process of establishing XL Axiata as ServeCo and Link Net as FiberCo is moving smoothly. As part of this strategic move, XL Axiata acquired roughly 750 thousand residential subscribers from Link Net. This acquisition increased XL Axiata's FBB customer base to over one million, making it Indonesia's second largest FBB player.
The collaboration between XL Axiata and Link Net has also made considerable strides in driving and strengthening this FMC services industry, including a promise to expand service coverage. Furthermore, XL Axiata is committed to accelerating the adoption of FMC service convergence and improving the customer experience. Currently, XL Axiata has expanded its FMC service network coverage to 127 cities/districts, with a total of 6 million homes passed.
XL Axiata additionally continues on developing products for the corporate and small medium business (SMB) segments. The growth of services for these two segments is also in line with the growing need for information and communication technology (ICT), internet of things (IoT), and big data services.
Network Infrastructure Expansion
XL Axiata is expanding its network infrastructure, and by the end of 2024, it will have deployed 5.740 base transceiver stations (BTS). As a result, the total number of BTS presently stands at 165,864 units, marking a 4% increase over the previous year. Of this number, almost 111 thousand are 4G BTS.
Meanwhile, network fiberization has reached 63% across all BTS locations throughout the country. Fiberization is a modernisation process that connects BTS to fibre optic lines and upgrades BTS equipment. This includes replacing microwave powered devices with fiber based equipment. This fiberization program not only improves the quality of 4G data services, but it also serves as a strategic step towards preparing the network for future 5G deployment, resulting in better and faster digital experiences.
XL Axiata continues to take proactive steps to improve network quality, which is a critical basis for providing a good customer experience. XL Axiata's commitment to network strengthening is demonstrated in capital expenditures (Capex) of Rp 7.4 trillion. XL Axiata will continue to invest in network development with caution to guarantee that the services provided continue to improve in quality while meeting the increased demand for network usage.
XL Axiata and Smartfren Strategic Merger
The company has also taken a corporate step by merging. XL Axiata and Smartfren have signed a definitive agreement to merge, with a pre-synergy value of over Rp 104 trillion. This merger would result in the formation of a new telecoms organisation known as XLSmart, which will become a major player in Indonesia's telecommunications industry. The collaboration will promote innovation, improve service quality, and increase digital connectivity throughout Indonesia. Furthermore, the merger is expected to result in considerable cost savings, with pre-tax synergies of USD 300-400 million once strategic network integration and resource optimisation are completed. The collaboration will establish XLSmart as a revolutionary force in the telecommunications industry, laying the stage for long term growth and innovation in the sector.
This merger is a strategic move that brings together two complimentary businesses with the purpose of offering the best services in the Indonesian telecoms sector. With the formation of XLSmart, the combined firm will have a wider scale, strong financial backing, and extensive experience. This will enable greater investment in digital infrastructure, expanded service coverage, and customer beneficial innovations. The agreement will result in a healthier and more competitive market, with more benefits for society as a whole.