XL Axiata recorded IDR 8.6 trillion in revenue for the first quarter of 2025, reflecting a 2% year-on-year (YoY) growth.

EBITDA reached IDR 4.32 trillion with an EBITDA margin of 50.2%, while net profit after tax stood at IDR 388 billion. Revenue from data and digital services accounted for more than 91% of the total.

President Director & CEO of XLSMART, Rajeev Sethi, said, “Throughout the first quarter of 2025, we faced significant challenges, including increasingly intense competition, weakened consumer purchasing power, and reduced public mobility during the lead-up to the Eid holidays. In addition, we had to concentrate our efforts on finalizing the business merger process with Smartfren.”

He added that despite these challenges, the company achieved growth aligned with industry trends and completed the merger as planned.

Customer Growth Driven by Mobile and Fixed Broadband Segments

The company added 1.2 million mobile customers year-on-year, bringing the total to 58.8 million by the end of March 2025. Blended Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) remained stable at around IDR 40,000.

XL Axiata’s Fixed Broadband (FBB) segment reached over 1 million subscribers. Sethi stated, “This solid performance was driven by stable growth in our mobile business, supported by a strategy focused on Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC).”

Digital Engagement Strengthens Through MyXL and AXISNet Platforms

Active users of MyXL and AXISNet reached 35.7 million in Q1 2025, with Monthly Active Users (MAU) increasing 18% year-on-year. The usage of both apps supported improved customer engagement and experience.

A 21% increase in revenue contribution from these platforms was partially attributed to the introduction of the XL Circle feature in the MyXL app.

The company reported an improvement in Net Promoter Score (NPS), driven by the personalization of offers and services.

Operational Efficiency and Financial Health Remain Priorities

Operational cost growth was kept below the rate of revenue growth. Sales and marketing expenses decreased due to digitalization, while interconnection fees, other direct expenses, and regulatory costs increased year-on-year.

Free Cash Flow rose by 28%, reaching IDR 3.08 trillion. Gross debt was IDR 13.1 trillion, and net debt stood at IDR 11.6 trillion.

The net debt to EBITDA ratio (including finance leases) was 2.51x. The company reported no USD-denominated debt, with 64% of loans on floating interest rates and 36% on fixed rates.

Network Expansion Supports Increased Traffic and Customer Experience

Capital expenditure reached approximately IDR 1.24 trillion in Q1, with most of it directed toward network expansion and quality improvement. XL Axiata operated over 164,000 base transceiver stations (BTS), with 4G BTS rising 7% YoY to over 115,000.

Sixty-three percent of BTS locations were connected to fiber optic networks. Service traffic increased by more than 9% YoY, reaching 2,848 Petabytes.

XL Axiata Merges with Smartfren to Form XLSMART

On April 16, 2025, PT XL Axiata Tbk, PT Smartfren Telecom Tbk, and PT Smart Telecom officially merged into PT XLSMART Telecom Sejahtera Tbk (“XLSMART” or “IDX: EXCL”).

The new entity combines their customer bases and services under XL, AXIS, and Smartfren brands, serving over 94.5 million customers with a combined market share of 25% and pro forma projected revenue of IDR 45.8 trillion.

PHOTO: XL AXIATA/KOMPAS.COM

This article was created with AI assistance.