XL Axiata Record Net Profit Soared 246 Percent To Rp1.3 Trillion, XL CEO: Highest Since 2013

President Director & CEO of XL Axiata, Dian Siswarini. (Photo: Doc. XL Axiata)

JAKARTA - After experiencing a difficult period in 2020, PT XL Axiata Tbk (EXCL) managed to improve the company's performance throughout 2021. One of them is with a record profit soaring up to 246% from IDR 317 billion in 2020 to IDR 1.3 trillion.

"Although competition in the industry remains very tight, and people's purchasing power has not fully recovered as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company is able to maintain financial performance," said XL Axiata President Director & CEO, Dian Siswarini in a statement, Monday, February 21.

Dian revealed that the net profit record was also the highest obtained by XL Axiata since 2013.

According to Dian, improving financial performance cannot be separated from the company's steps in strengthening its network. Thus, it has an impact on increasing customer experience and digitization, which in turn supports business efficiency and increased sales. Our focus is not on responding to service tariff competition, but rather on providing the best customer experience and creating value for our customers," added Dian.

Throughout 2021, XL Axiata's capitalized capex will reach Rp9.92 trillion, and it is planned that in 2022 XL Axiata will also allocate capital expenditures with a relatively similar value of around Rp9 trillion. Dian added, consolidation in the industry will be positive for competition because it has created an industrial structure. more balanced. This means that the focus of market participants should be more on the customer experience rather than playing with tariffs.

Therefore, XL Axiata's investment in network and digitalization is the company's strategy to provide the best customer experience. By the end of 2021, the total number of XL Axiata BTS has reached more than 162,282 units, with 4G BTS increasing to 77,204. Meanwhile, fiberization has covered more than 50% of the site. The area served by the 4G network has also increased to 458 cities/districts.

The continued increase in the strength of the XL Axiata network is in line with the higher level of data service usage by customers. During the 12 month period in 2021, XL Axiata's data traffic increased rapidly, increasing by 34% YoY to 6,549 Petabytes. This is also in line with internet access speed which has increased by 20% since the beginning of the year.

In addition to successfully recording the highest net profit since 2013, the company was also able to increase its data revenue contribution to 94 percent, the highest in the industry. Data revenue as of the end of 2021 was recorded at Rp23.42 trillion, up 5.4 percent. Dian also revealed that the company does not have US dollar-denominated debt. As much as 70 percent of the existing loans have floating interest rates and the repayments can still be managed for the next two years.

In accordance with the vision to become the no. 1 Converged Operator in Indonesia, the company continues to strive to introduce converged services while increasing its benefits. As a result, the penetration of this converged service has reached 11 percent, which means that the demand for this product is strong.

"The acquisition of Linknet which has just been carried out will greatly support the development of this convergence product in the future," Dian explained.