Jakarta, November 7th 2022. PT XL Axiata Tbk (XL Axiata) achieved solid performance throughout the first nine months of 2022. Revenue increased 9% higher than the same period the previous year (YoY) to IDR 21.62 trillion. EBITDA also increased by 5% YoY to IDR 10.38 trillion, with a margin of 48%. Meanwhile, normalized profit after tax and minority interest (NPATAMI) increased 17% to IDR 976 billion. This solid achievement is still supported by the continuous improvement in the quality of the XL Axiata network, which makes customers more comfortable when using various telecommunication and data services.
XL Axiata's President Director and CEO, Dian Siswarini, said, "Since the beginning of 2022 we have been working hard to realize the fastest and stable internet in all service areas in Indonesia. Of course, this is not an easy job, but we have to make it happen because fast and stable internet is an urgent need for customers in all regions. This is also the key that we can remain competitive amid the increasingly fierce industry competition. The results are quite good, until the first nine months of 2022, our traffic increased by 26% compared to the same period the previous year. This means that customers feel that the XL Axiata network and services that we provide are getting better.”
The more comfortable customers on the XL Axiata network are reflected in the increase in data and digital service revenues during the first nine months of 2022 by 9% YoY, and grew to reach IDR 19.71 trillion. Revenue from data and digital services reaches more than 91% of the company's total revenue.
Meanwhile, the total number of XL Axiata subscribers reached 57.4 million, with a portion of the number of prepaid service subscribers as much as 55.9 million. Customers using 4G reach 92.2%. Meanwhile, blended ARPU (average revenue per user) in third quarter 2022 was recorded at IDR 40 thousand, an increase from IDR 37 thousand in the same period the previous year. This shows XL Axiata's ability to maintain healthy customer development.
XL Axiata's efforts to improve quality and expand its network have continued throughout the last nine months, continuing the same program in previous years. Therefore, XL Axiata applies various appropriate supporting technologies, including Smart FDD 8T8R technology to increase throughput by up to 200% compared to 4T4R technology, and at the same time save energy costs by up to 26%. In addition, XL Axiata also continues to re-arrange technology (refarming) by turning off the 3G network, and now it has reached 95%, with the remaining 3G BTS still operating around 1,989 units.
XL Axiata's seriousness in strengthening its network can also be seen from the allocation of 70% of the total capital expenditure (capex) fund of IDR 9 trillion for network expansion. By the end of September 2022, XL Axiata has a total of more than 145 thousand 2G and 4G BTS, with the number of 4G BTS increasing significantly to reach 90,174 units. This number increased significantly compared to the same period the previous year.
The improvement in the quality of the XL Axiata network in 2022 also received recognition from one of the most trusted survey institutions in the telecommunications industry, OpenSignal. Based on the results of an independent survey conducted by the agency in the last July 2022 period, XL Axiata was ranked first in the category of downloading speed and video access experience (video streaming).
Faster internet access has a positive impact on the use of digital applications, including company-owned applications, namely “myXL” and “Axisnet”. The two applications, which offer various service packages as well as means of serving customers digitally, have each experienced an increase in monthly active users since the start of the pandemic. Thus, the increased investment that XL Axiata has implemented has been proven to be very supportive of improving business performance, especially in terms of cost efficiency and opportunities to increase product sales.
In line with the company's vision to become the leading converged operator in Indonesia (#1 Converged Operator in Indonesia), XL Axiata also continues to strive to introduce converged services to the Indonesian people, while increasing its benefits. As a result, the penetration of this converged service has reached 32%, which means that the demand for this product is strong. The recent acquisition of Linknet will greatly support the development of this converged product in the future. In addition, XL Axiata has also completed the acquisition of Hypernet. This step will further strengthen XL Axiata's portfolio of corporate services (B2B). Continuing the acquisition of Linknet, XL Axiata together with Linknet have also launched collaboration product in the third quarter
In Q3 period, XL Axiata has also successfully issued AAA rating Bonds and Sukuk of IDR 1.5 trilion each (total amount IDR 3 trilion)
XL Axiata's financial position is healthy as of this nine months of 2022 with gross debt recorded IDR 16.1 trillion and a gearing ratio of net debt to EBITDA (including finance leases) of 2.78x. Net debt was recorded IDR 10.31 trillion.
XL Axiata has no USD-denominated debt. As much as 70% of the existing loans have floating interest rates and 30% have fixed interest rates. Free Cash Flow (FCF) is at a healthy level, increasing by 15%, to IDR 4.1 trillion.
To finance network development and boost revenue growth, the value of capitalized capex during the first nine months of 2022 was maintained at similar level compared to previous year at IDR 6.32 trillion. In 2022, XL Axiata plans to continue to allocate capital expenditures approximately IDR 9 trillion.
There are several positive opportunities in the Indonesian Telecommunications Industry in 2022 that XL Axiata can take advantage of to improve future performance. These opportunities are first, the demand for fixed data services, where penetration for this service is still quite low, which means that there is great potential for telecommunication operators to achieve high growth in both consumer services and the corporate segment.
Second, the demand for digital services will remain strong because people feel that they get a lot of convenience with a hybrid lifestyle, whether for work, study, recreation, to shopping. CAGR for data consumption of cellular service users is projected to reach 16% by 2026. Third, customers want a simple yet complete service. This is an opportunity for a converged product that can provide a complete experience for XL Axiata customers with a higher-quality ARPU.