XL Posted Revenues Rp 5.5 trillion

Dian Siswarini (dok)

JAKARTA (IndoTelko)  – PT XL AxiataTbk (XL) posted gross revenues of Rp5.5 trillion with flat growth Year on Year (YoY) for the first quarter ended 31 March 2015.

Cellular revenue grew 3%YoY as the Data segment continues to see strong growth recording 29% YoYgrowth. Data revenue now contributes32% to XL’s total usage revenue compared to 26%a year ago.

In 2014, XL was focused on the consolidation and integration process with Axis. With this process now completed ahead of schedule, 2015 will be a transformational year for XL as it seeks to build a more sustainable business for the future amidst the changing business landscape and market maturity.

XL begins 2015 with a transformation agenda with a focus on long-term value creation.This will be a 3-wave transformation which encompasses: repairing the core (revamp); moving up the value ladder (rise) and going beyond (reinvent).

This change will be led by XL’s new President Director, Dian Siswarini supported by experienced management and newly appointed chiefs of various business units.

This transition to the new business model focusing on long term value creation will have some near-term impact as XL shifts its subscriber acquisition strategy from volume to value while revamping the product portfolio with a specific aim to improve data profitability. Thus, this will likely impact the subscriber numbers and revenue in the first half of the year.

“With the changing market dynamics, it is imperative that XL remains ahead of the curve by transforming itself to remain relevant and focus on long-term value creation and building a sustainable business for the future,” said Dian.

As part of the transformation, the company intends to utilize a dual-brand strategy with both the XL and Axis brands to address different segments of the market. In line with this, the Axis brand was recently re-launched with a focus on addressing customers seeking to maximize value offerings.

“Our continued focus in making mobile internet services more accessible and convenient resulted in an increase of Data traffic of 92%YoY as we continuously offer customers a wide variety of affordable devices and service bundles. Smartphone adopters increase to 17.2 million or 33% penetration rate in 1Q 15,” said Dian.

Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter is down 15% YoY from the same period last year toRp1.9 trillion with EBITDA margin at34%. The lower EBITDA was due to the integration with Axis as this acquisition was completed on the 19th of March 2014 thus the impacts were not fully reflected in the previous year’s quarter.

Loss during the quarter amounted to Rp758 billion as a result of the weakening Rupiah. Excluding the impact from unrealised forex transactions and gain from taxation, XL would have recorded a net loss of Rp79 billion.

During the quarter, XL had a paid capex of Rp769billion on efforts to expand its Data infrastructure and mobile services which was funded via internally generated funds. Total debt increased slightly to Rp30.2 trillion from Rp28.4 trillion as at the end of the previous year’s quarter while Net Debt/EBITDA reduced slightly from 2.9xto 2.8x.(es)