PT XLSMART Telecom Sejahtera Tbk

Full-year 2025 revenue increased 23% year over year to IDR 42.5 trillion, driven mainly by data and digital services. Normalized EBITDA increased 13% to IDR 30.1 trillion, while reported EBITDA margin was around 42% and normalized EBITDA margin was 47%. Normalized PAT grew 63% year over year to IDR 3 trillion; normalized PAT was also described as IDR 3.3 trillion after adjusting for integration OpEx, accelerated depreciation, and asset impairment. In Q4 2025, mobile subscribers were 73 million, down 8% quarter on quarter but up 24% year on year, blended ARPU was IDR 44,800, up 15% quarter on quarter, and traffic reached almost 4,000 petabytes, up 47% year on year and 2% quarter on quarter. For 2026, management expects revenue growth broadly in line with the market, EBITDA growth at approximately 2x revenue growth, CapEx around IDR 15 trillion and possibly up to IDR 20 trillion, and merger synergies of USD 250 million to USD 300 million in 2026; full synergy potential was reiterated at USD 300 million to USD 400 million annually once integration is complete.

Rajeev Sethi framed 2025 as the first year after the merger and emphasized that execution came ahead of plan. His tone was confident and disciplined: he repeatedly stressed that integration risk has materially reduced, that the heavy lifting on cost is largely done, and that the company is now shifting from integration toward optimization and value extraction. He also positioned 5G as a core growth and differentiation pillar, highlighting blanket city coverage, a consistent 5G experience, and a deliberate rollout strategy.

Antony Susilo focused on the quality of growth and the mechanics behind the reported numbers. He said the 73 million mobile subscriber base in Q4 reflected intentional tightening of acquisition discipline, while ARPU and usage improved, with ARPU at IDR 44,800 and traffic almost 4,000 petabytes. For full-year 2025 he cited revenue of IDR 42.5 trillion, normalized EBITDA of IDR 30.1 trillion, reported EBITDA of IDR 17.8 trillion including IDR 2.4 trillion of integration-related OpEx, and normalized PAT of IDR 3 trillion. On 2026, he said integration costs should be less than IDR 1 trillion, accelerated depreciation should be around IDR 5 trillion, D&A may rise 10% to 15% versus 2025 due to new sites and accelerated depreciation, and the EBITDA guidance excludes spectrum auction costs.

Analysts pressed on why Q4 normalized EBITDA growth lagged revenue growth, and management said the gap was mainly due to higher 5G launch-related sales and marketing spending. They also asked about ARPU trends, and management said ARPU should keep moving higher because usage per subscriber and yield per gigabyte are both improving, with Q1 expected to be more of the same. Questions on subscriber trends drew a clear response that lower-quality, short-tenure users are being intentionally cleaned out, so total subs may keep falling in Q1 even as quality improves. On spectrum, management said the auction should be completed and awarded by H1 2026, but they would not speculate on pricing and noted the EBITDA guide excludes spectrum costs.