Good afternoon, everyone. Assalamu alaikum. Thank you for joining the call today. We will be presenting our first-quarter results. As you would know, we are in the process of merging. The merger got approved on 16th of April, and we are in the process of running that merger. The results which we are presenting today are the standalone performance of XL Axiata quarter ending March 31st, 2025. The consolidated results of XL Smart will be reported from next quarter, which is the second quarter of the year. At this time, I would also want to express my deepest appreciation for the erstwhile CEO of the company, Dian Siswarini, who retired at the end of last quarter. Under her leadership, as you would know, XL Axiata became a leading convergence player in Indonesia, driving both transformation and growth.
If I just dive into the results of quarter one, 2025, this year started with modest progress. This year was a tough year for the entire industry. In that tough year, our top line grew by 2% year- on- year. We outperformed the market. Competition is intense. The customer buying power remains weak. Our strategy of disciplined pricing, focus on digital execution, and on higher quality subscribers has helped us sustain the revenue growth. Our FMC strategy continues to be an area of focus. We added the First Media subscribers to XL. Now we believe we are in a very strong position to scale the convergence drive even more effectively in the future. As I mentioned earlier, the merger was completed on 16th of April, and we believe we are in a much stronger position now to compete effectively in the market.
It will be a new phase for growth for us, combining the complementary strengths which I spoke about last time when I met you of both the companies, one coming from the local cinemas conglomerate and other from the Axiata stable. We'll be able to combine our assets, spectrum, market reach, and be able to compete effectively in the market. We'll not only have scale, but we'll also be able to accelerate the delivery of more comprehensive and better digital and converged services to millions of Indonesians. As we say in our purpose, we are here to connect all Indonesians to a better life. If I move to the next one, please. In 2025, we will continue to spearhead the digitalization as one of our core focus areas. We are building a truly digital company from distribution and engagement to service experience.
Our digital channels, especially myXL and AccessNet, continue to drive self-care and sales, impacting both cost efficiency and also user experience. I'm happy to report that the active users increased 18% year- on- year, reaching 35.7 million subscribers. These platforms, as I said, have helped us to not only improve the customer experience, but have also helped us maintain a more efficient cost structure, which is especially important given the weak quarter the entire industry had. We remain committed to investing in digital capabilities to build deeper customer engagement and create long-term value. In line with that, in the first quarter, we launched XL Circle feature in myXL that provides a host of features, and one amongst them is group data sharing with bonus quotas and several other benefits. If I move to the next slide, please. This is about our convergence play.
This will remain a strategic pillar for us in the future. There are three priorities which I want to talk about. The first one is the First Media integration. We got the subscribers on board at the end of last quarter. The integration is well underway. The migration of the First Media customers will pave the way forward towards improved customer retention by combining the strengths of mobile, broadband, and the content offerings. Second is we'll focus on much better quality acquisition, especially on the XL SATU side. By accelerating the FMC penetration, we aim to deliver long-term customer sustainability and drive subscriber expansion. Thirdly, we are building a foundation for future value creation. We're advancing cross-sell initiatives, enhancing value proposition for existing mobile and broadband customers, and preparing to launch new product offerings that will enrich the convergence experience.
This will be enabled through a very disciplined execution against these priorities. We are confident that we'll be able to cement our place as one of the prominent players in this space. If I move to the next slide, which speaks about the financial resilience which we have demonstrated. As I mentioned, the quarter one was marked by price competition, and the ARPU, especially the prepaid ARPU, was under pressure across the industry. Despite this, we maintained financial resilience. Revenue grew modestly year- on- year, 2%, held by the First Media subscriber acquisition. Our cost discipline and the productivity improvements helped us cushion the margin pressures which we had. EBITDA is maintained above 50%, and we'll continue to evaluate our pricing strategies to ensure that we are able to balance both growth and profitability.
If we move to the slide nine, our mobile traffic grew 9% year- on- year, which means that the demand is pretty stable. In fact, it is growing at a pretty healthy pace. Despite the intense market competition and softer consumer environment, we maintained a stable subscriber base. Our focus is to acquire and retain high-quality, engaged customers. The blended ARPU declined during this quarter slightly to around IDR 40,000. Again, a reflection of the weaker consumer spending in the market and also the lower seasonal mobility. This year, we noticed that people movement in Lebanon was around 25% lower than last year in the same period, which is a very significant number, which also indicates the overall weaker macroeconomic situation. Nevertheless, we are committed to drive ARPU sustainability.
As I mentioned earlier, our digital platforms, myXL, My AXIS, and now also the Smart platform will help us move forward on that path. Also, the convergence offerings on the fixed wireless business will help us move forward here. If I move to slide 10, which is about the profitable growth through cost discipline. As always, we will continue to prioritize cost efficiency and network productivity in aiming for profitable growth. This becomes even more important once we merge the two companies. In our first quarter, the operating expenses increased by 7% year- on- year. This is, in a way, a reflection of the change in the business portfolio we have. As I mentioned earlier, we onboarded customers from Link Net to us, which has changed the cost mix which we have in this quarter.
The year-on-year costs, which are higher, were primarily driven by fiber lease expansion, the First Media business transfer-related cost, internalization of mass segment distribution operations, while savings in sales and marketing expenses through distribution channel optimization, digital acceleration, and more selective sales and marketing spending helped us moderate this cost pressure. We remain committed to maintaining strict cost discipline while continuing to invest prudently in areas which will help us drive growth. Moving to slide 11 now. Our network continues to grow both in quality and also in size. At the end of the quarter, we are close to 165,000 BTS. The 4G BTS grew 7% year- on- year. Now 63% of our sites are fiberized, which will enable us to enter the 5G era, which should be soon upon us in a much better position.
With the merger now effective, we'll be further able to expand and rationalize our network infrastructure to serve our customers better. Excuse me. If I move to the next slide, please. This is about the merger. We are very excited. The merger happened on 16 April when the two companies officially came together. We believe this is a landmark event not only for us as people within the organization, but for the entire industry in Indonesia. Our ambitions are very clear. Firstly, we aspire to become the most loved company in Indonesia for our customers by 2027. We would do this by consistently delivering better customer experiences, meaningful innovations, and best-in-class service quality. Secondly, we aim to be the best place to work for our people, building an environment where talent thrives, collaboration is encouraged, and purpose drives our actions.
Thirdly, we are determined to become the most efficient service provider, operating with discipline, agility, and a relentless focus on operational excellence. Our guiding spirit, which in Bahasa is, "Bersama melaju tanpa batas," or "Go beyond together," underscores our commitment to work collaboratively within an organization, with our partners, with all the stakeholders internally and externally to unlock new possibilities and create a better future for all Indonesians. This leads to our mission, which is to connect every Indonesian for a better life. I am personally very excited about this opportunity and confident that together with the strengths of both the companies which have merged, we will achieve extraordinary success. The formal merger is over, but our immediate focus now is to ensure that the synergies which this merger promises to unlock, we are able to deliver on that.
At the same time, ensure that we maintain and enhance customer experiences as we move forward. I'll take a pause now and hand it back over to Chris.
Thank you, Mr. Rajeev. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now proceed to the Q&A session. As a reminder, the Q&A session will be in hybrid mode. To ask a question, you may type it in the Q&A box. Please ensure to also type in your full name. If you'd like further clarification after your question, please kindly use the raise hand buttons, and we'll proceed to unmute your microphone. Okay. We'll go to the first question. The first question comes from Sabrina from Trimegah Sekuritas. There are two questions. We note the first one is we note an increase in the bonus quota allocation, notwithstanding the absence of any adjustment to headline pricing.
Concurrently, a higher price package previously offered at IDR 168,480 gigs was discontinued, while a more accessible alternative price at IDR 25,000 for 9.5 GB, featuring a lower renewal threshold, was introduced. Does XL continue to observe sustained pressure on consumer purchasing power through April and into May? The second question is also about commercial. We will also observe that XL has aligned with peers by launching a 3 GB starter pack priced at IDR 35,000. It would be helpful to understand the initial traction of this offering, especially how this resonates with consumers and what proportion of this total revenue does starter pack currently contribute.
Yeah. Hello, Sabrina. Thanks for the questions. Regarding the first one, yes, we have seen pressure on consumer purchasing power. That I think is a reality for us and for the industry, as you can see during quarter one.
Now, very specific products changing, like higher-end or more premium, less premium, etc., that typically goes very, very detailed. So we take very tactical decisions based on which products are more attractive, less attractive, more traction, less traction in the geography, etc. Yes, there is pressure on the consumer purchasing power. Now, do not take this as a clear example of that, because again, we do many of these changes during the year. To the second one, we have not aligned with anybody about any new price package. Now, it is a reality that we are moving towards reducing the number of SIM cards or different SKUs that we have in the market, because for us, from a distribution point of view, it is more complicated. For the customer and even the outlet, it is also more complicated. We are moving into a much more simplified distribution system.
In that sense, we are trying to reduce the number of SKUs that we have in the SIM cards. As you may know, the physical vouchers are much easier to move, because we can move a blank voucher, let's say, and then those vouchers can get whatever amount of gigabytes or products, the different products, right? For the SIM cards, we are trying to simplify as well. Hope that answers the question.
Thank you, David. I would like now to unmute the line for Sabrina to ask any follow-up question.
Hello. Thanks, David, and thanks, Chris. I do not have any follow-up questions. Thank you.
Okay. Thank you. All right. Let's move on to the next question, please. The next question comes from Piyush Chowdhary from HSBC. Hi. Thank you for the call. Congratulations on the merger completion. Three questions. Are you able to retain all spectrum post-merger?
Can you share your network integration strategy and margin target for 2025-2026 as you integrate networks? The third question is on the, would you retain all brands if you can share your brand strategy? Any change in your distribution strategy across the brand? I think for the first question, I would like to invite Mr. Rajeev to help answer the question.
If you're okay, Chris, I'll try and answer all the three questions. With your permission, Chris.
Yes, please.
The first one is on the spectrum side. Yes, we are able to retain all the spectrum till end of 2026. By end of 2026, we have agreed with the regulator to return the 900 spectrum, which is 15 MHz. I think this is something which we planned for. We believe this is better for us to return this expensive spectrum.
As you would know, there is a new spectrum auction which is on the horizon, and we intend to participate in that. The merged entity will have a much better spectrum portfolio even after 2026, based on whatever I just informed to you. On the network integration strategy, as you know, we have 45,000 towers, XL Axiata Smart has around 22,000-23,000 towers. 67,000-68,000 towers is the total number which we have. We believe between 15%-20% of those towers are overlapping, and those towers would be sunset, taken off. That is an ongoing negotiation we are having with our partners. That will result in a significant synergy for us. Some of those towers will redeploy in areas where we believe we can compete effectively and profitably. That is going to be our approach on the network integration.
Obviously, this is not only just about combining the towers. It is also about combining the spectrum. You know we do not have overlapping spectrum. We have different spectrum bands, which in a way is a blessing, which will help us not only do this synergy of the networks, but will also help us prepare our network, which is future-ready. In terms of the margin targets, unfortunately, I cannot get into that. At this stage, you know we are into the early stage of integration. As we promised earlier, we expect after the merger is completed, an annual run rate saving of between $300 million-$400 million pre-tax. We believe that we should be in a position to achieve that. Retain all brands? Yes, we intend to retain all the three brands. I think we spoke about this earlier also, pre-merger investor calls.
We believe that's a pretty strong strength, which we have, a very strong differentiator we have. Indonesia is a very large market, very different customer segments. And the three brands which we have, they resonated with very different customer segments. If anything, we'll want to sharpen this differentiation in the future and ensure that these brands are clearly targeting different customer segments. Changes in distribution strategy? You know, distribution is always evolving. Nothing is set in stone. We always look at what is the best distribution model for us. As we move forward, we'll continuously evaluate the different models which are there in front of us. There's one model which is used in XL and Access. There's another model which is used in Smart. It's not that we'll force fit one approach to the other, but we will do what is best for that brand.
Somewhere which I spoke about earlier, the entire brand strategy in which segment which we are wanting to focus on will also feed into this distribution plan or strategy which we make. Those are the answers. In case you have any follow-up question, Piyush, please go ahead and ask.
Thank you, Mr. Rajeev. I would like to open the line for Piyush to ask any follow-up question.
Yeah, hi. Thanks a lot, Rajeev, for all the responses. Just on the spectrum, would you be using the 850 MHz for the indoor coverage for 4G and going forward for 5G? What's the spectrum kind of strategy going forward? If you can also share, you mentioned that there are more spectrum bands coming for auction. If you can highlight which bands are coming and which would be of keen interest to you.
Yeah, I think 850 on the Smart side is being used for indoor 4G coverage. The good part is 850 will be available to the entire set of even XL customers to take advantage of. Yes, 850 would be used for indoor 4G. The spectrum roadmap, I think that's public knowledge. Most likely, 700 and 2,600 are going to come up for auction in the near future, end of this year or beginning of next year. That is something which would be of interest to us. Obviously, subject to the auction mechanism, the quantum available, and the pricing, I think those are always a factor there. We would be interested in those spectrum bands. There is also an ongoing discussion about 1,400. That is something which we are evaluating.
We are not very sure about the use cases around that, but that is something which we are actively considering. We have not concluded on yes or a no for a 1,400 as we speak, but that is being actively considered. These are the ones which I see in the next one quarter to the next four quarters, the spectrums which will be up and available in the auction.
Got it, Rajeev. This is very clear. Any kind of annual cost synergies which you can share? Maybe it would be better after 2Q once the combined numbers are there. I just want to know the big picture we know, but milestones to see on the cost synergies on a year-wise basis. How should we think about that?
You know, as you know, we have just finished the merger.
Now we have just started to learn to work together. We have some plans, but I think we'll wait a few more weeks, possibly a quarter or so, before we come back to you with some exact milestones which we have.
Great. Thanks a lot.
Okay. Thank you, Piyush. All right. Let's move on now to the next question from Indra Jaya from Macquarie. There are two questions. The first one is on spectrum retention, which I think has already been addressed, that basically we'll have to return the spectrum of 900 MHz by 2026 December. Second question is on guidance for CapEx to sales revenue post-merger. I would like now to invite Pa Anthony to give some colors on the question.
Okay. Thank you, Chris. So Indra, on the guidance for the CapEx, I think, as explained by Pa Rajeev earlier, that we just finished the completed the merger.
We are currently aligning all the key operational, network, financial, strategic frameworks across the two entities here. I think we are in the early stage in integrating the two businesses. I think we believe, I think it is better to hold off to issuing the guidance at this moment. I think in another, like Pa Rajeev mentioned, maybe in another few weeks or months, we will issue the guidance until we have greater clarity and alignment across our operations. Once the integration reaches greater clarity, then of course we will share the guidance based on the well-defined post-merger model. I think we need to secure sort of consideration or understanding as we focus currently on the execution of the seamless integration. For sure, the CapEx will be elevated this year, of course mainly driven by the network consolidation.
We have to do the network dispensing. We have to do redeployment as well as upgrading the capacity. Okay. Thank you, Indra.
Thank you, Pa Anthony. Now I'd like to open the line for Indra to ask any follow-up question.
Thank you, Pa Anthony. That's very clear. Probably it's also a bit early to gauge about dividend policies, right? I was just wondering, I mean, if you were to, let's say, to sustain a more sustainable dividend policy, how long would it take for the two companies to discuss. Yeah, that's about it, thanks, Pa.
You're talking about dividend now? In terms of the dividend, I think at this moment we cannot give you any certainty whether we will maintain or not.
But I think along the way that we will see that what will be our profit at the end of the year. After that, we will start discussing internally and proposing to the shareholders for that subject. Thank you.
All right. Thank you, Pa Anthony.
Thank you, Pa Indra, Pa Anthony. Let's move on to the next question comes from Aurelia from Indo Premier. There are two questions. Can you share the guidance for this year on EBITDA margin and growth? Second, any color on the network integration technology and how fast would the integration happen? I think for the, let's answer the second question first on the network integration process. I would like to invite Pa Rajeev to help address the question on network integration.
Yeah. On the network integration process, we believe the entire integration to be over in the next two years.
Obviously, we'll try and accelerate it faster than that. That is the outer limit which we have kept for ourselves to finish this integration in its entirety. Obviously, it will start immediately in the next few weeks. Gradually, it will gather pace. Over the next, as I said, two years, it will be completely done. On the first part, Pa Anthony, would you want to?
Yeah, on the first part, this is from Aurelia, right? On that one, I think I have covered that one also when I explained to Pa Indra. I hope Aurelia can get the same understanding. Thank you.
Thank you, Pa Rajiv, Pa Anthony. I would like to unmute Aurelia's line. Please ask if you have any follow-up question.
Yes, hi. Thank you, Pa Chris. Thank you, Management, for the answer. I have another question regarding your cost synergy.
You mentioned the potential cost synergy is around $300 million-$400 million annually, right? For this year, how much should we expect that to materialize? Can you give us guidance in terms of the timing as well? When should we expect the cost synergy to kick in? Thank you.
Yeah, thank you, Aurelia. I think for this year, of course, given we understand that there will be a lot of integration costs, but also we expect that some savings will happen, will realize. Maybe the numbers, maybe what we expect that we cannot get, of course, the $300 million-$400 million, but at least like $100 million that hopefully we can get it from the synergy savings. Thank you.
Okay, thank you, Pa. Maybe another follow-up question. What's the split between the OpEx and CapEx?
Is that the $100 million you mentioned only for OpEx, or that's including for your CapEx for this year?
Yeah, I'm referring to the operating expenses only. For CapEx, I think it's more to the cost avoidance, yeah, because basically if there is no merger, XL and Smartfren will continue to deploy the network on their own. Of course, after this merger, then there will be a synergy from the cost avoidance.
Okay, thank you, Pa. For the following year, I mean, out of the $300 million-$400 million, how much OpEx should we expect, yeah, Pa, the split? The $300 million-$400 million, that's including the cost avoidance, right, for the CapEx. On normalized full year basis, how much should we expect the OpEx efficiency?
The $300 million-$400 million that we talked about is about the operating expenses.
Oh, only for the OpEx.
Okay, thank you, Pa.
Just to jump in here, just to clarify, when we speak about operating expenses, we're talking about lease rentals. You know, in the IFRS, it's not classified strictly as OpEx. Just clarity there. Yeah. Some of that is reported below EBITDA so that we are clear in terms of what we're talking about.
I see. That's majorly only for the lease, yeah? No cost efficiency on the manpower, etc., yeah, Pa.
Yeah. There are multiple angles to it, but a significant component of that will be the leases.
Okay. Thank you, Pa. Very clear.
Thank you, Pa Rajeev, Pa Anthony. Let's move on to the next question from Ranjan Sharma from JP Morgan. There are two questions. The first one is about what is the wireless revenue growth for First Media?
If there is any reason for why CapEx has declined 40% year- on- year.
Yeah, I think we spoke about this earlier, but correct me if I'm wrong, Pa Feiruz, adjusted for First Media, there is a decline of 4%-5%. That is the number if we are adjusting it for First Media. CapEx declined 40% year-on- year. As you know, the merger was impending. Any CapEx which we thought would be done better in the merged entity with the network integration happening was not done in quarter one. That is the reason. You would see significant CapEx being done, especially on the integration side between now and the next few quarters.
Thank you, Pa Rajeev. Ranjan, you have any follow-up question?
Yes, thank you. Thank you so much, Management. Thank you for the presentation as well. Yeah, just a couple of follow-ups.
Did I hear that right? So your revenues would have declined 5% on a year-on-year basis, excluding First Media?
That's correct.
Okay. On the CapEx, right, if I just triangulate that with your free cash flows and I'm adjusting your lease liabilities and using your financial statements, I come to a negative free cash flow for the firm even before considering interest payments. Is there a thinking around when you can become like free cash flow positive? Is it prudent for you to pay dividends before you become free cash flow positive? Thank you.
Sorry, you are referring, Ranjan, to the EBITDA, lower EBITDA margin, you mean?
No, I'm looking at your financial statements that you sent out separately along with the presentation. I go to page nine where you report the cash flow statement.
In that, I just take the operating cash flow, deduct the acquisition of fixed assets, lease payments. I come to a negative free cash flow even before considering interest payments. This is considering that the CapEx is down 40% yea- on- year.
Yeah. No, I think we know that the EBITDA margin was lower because of the result from the revenues, right? With the lower revenues figures. There is also additional costs happening in the first quarter or the last quarter because of the acquisition of Link Net customers. With that one, our EBITDA is getting lower. In terms of free cash flow, I would say that yes, I think for free cash flow also, of course, reflecting to the negative lower free cash flow, I would say. Yeah.
Thank you.
Is there a thinking around when you can be free cash flow positive? And is it prudent for you to pay dividends before you become free cash flow positive?
EBITDA positive with where you mean?
Free cash flow, annual free cash flow positive.
Free cash flow, right? You're referring to, Ranjan? I can hear me, Ranjan?
Yes, I'm referring to the annual free cash flow.
Correct. So you're absolutely right. I think from a free cash flow, if you take all in, right, it's negative for the quarter. I think one also has to look at the timing, right? If you look in the year- on- year, there's an improvement in the free cash flow position, albeit it's still negative. It's also the timing of when we actually make the payments in the quarters of the year.
Now, certainly moving forward, to answer that question, it will also depend on the synergies that we've just highlighted and also the integration costs. I'm able to give you an indication as for XL Smart moving forward. I think once we're able to give that guidance, then we'll be able to provide a bit of color, right, in terms of how their free cash flow, how shall I say, progress throughout the integration.
Okay, thank you. The other part of that was like, is it prudent for XL Smart to pay a dividend before you become free cash flow positive?
I think for the dividend policy of XL Smart, as Pa Anthony has highlighted, I think we'll come back, right, in terms of how the financials will look like, right, after factoring a lot of the integration exercise.
I think that's something that we will relook, right, together as a team and then come back, right, to you.
Yeah. Okay.
As you would know, also the dividend policy is by the shareholders and the BOC. So as Management, we'll obviously have our own views, but the new BOC has been constituted. As and when they finalize the dividend policy, that will be shared with all of you.
All right, thank you.
Okay, thank you, Ranjan. Thank you, Pa Rajeev. Let's move on now to the next question from Elizabeth Noviana. The first question is about how big is the impact from First Media business transfer to first quarter revenue. Then we saw a decline in sales and marketing costs in 2025 first quarter. You think this number is sustainable or will it increase in the remaining months?
The third question is, is there any potential one-off costs associated from the merger which you could already tell us? I think for the first question, I would like to invite Pa Anthony and Pa Feiruz maybe to help address the question.
Sure. Thank you, Elizabeth. I think for the first question, I think the indication was already provided by Pa Rajeev. You can see from a year- on- year, the consolidated for XL numbers grew 2%, but excluding the First Media, it would have been - 5%. You can actually work the impact, right, of the First Media business based on those numbers.
The second question is about the decline in sales and marketing costs for 2025 Q1. Do you think this number is sustainable or will it increase in the remaining months? If you'll just jump in, basically the.
Thank you for the question. I think on this one, as in the previous questions, right, since we merged, this margin or this sales and marketing cost was for XL Axiata. Since now we will have a third brand and as XL Smart, probably this will have to rebase. It will be a different number moving forward. I still cannot give the guidance, but it will be a different number.
Thank you, Pa David. Pa Anthony, you would like to address that question and maybe address the third question as well on one-off cost potentially, anything about the merger?
Thank you, Elizabeth. I think the answer that, of course, yes, there will be a potential one-off cost. For example, I think that we anticipate that there will be like a recording on impairment on the related in relation with the network assets.
I think we know that like similar like what Indosat and Hutchison at that time, there will be a certain impairment asset that we have to do because, of course, we recognize that there are certain legacy assets which will no longer be part of the long-term network roadmap. With that one, of course, we have to do impairment, but it is non-cash in nature and I think aligns with our transition to a more modern network infrastructure. Thank you.
Thank you, Pa Anthony. Now we'd like to open the line for Elizabeth to ask follow-up question.
Yeah, sorry, it's actually Bob from CGS. I think the, yeah, all the answer is already answered correct exactly. Thank you. No more question for me.
Thank you, Paul. All right, let's move on now to the next question from Andi Kurniawan from Avrist.
If we look at the internet connection and other direct expenses, we see that your home broadband expenses increased significantly. Is it due to First Media integration or what? Could you share your revenue from First Media business, ARPU, and the growth year on year in 2025? This is still on the First Media. Third question is about, do you still expect the ARPU will increase in 2Q 2025? I think this is more on mobile. I think first question, yes, the increase is because of the integration for First Media, which we acquired the subscriber in September last year. Maybe Pa Feiruz would like to add more colors on that.
Thank you, Andi Kurniawan, for the question.
On the impact of the First Media, right, the customer transfer, actually, you can actually see the impact from the fourth quarter of 2024, which you could also see the movements, right, from the interconnection, other direct costs. Primarily the reason is it's on the lease model, right? In this case, it's accounted for as an under cost of goods sold due to the nature of the contract and arrangement. You would expect this interconnection, direct expenses, contribution is coming also from this home business, right? I hope that answers the question, Chris.
Thank you, Pa. The third question on ARPU for mobile for 2025 Q2 onwards, I think I would like to invite Pa David to provide colors.
For sure, our main goal, as Pa Rajeev was mentioning before, is to acquire and have good quality subscribers.
ARPU is one of our main targets and we want to increase the ARPU now, whether it will happen in second quarter 2025 or later again. I mean, that's the guidance that I cannot give, but you can be sure that that's our top priority, increasing the ARPU moving forward.
Thank you, Pa David. Now, Andi Kurniawan, do you have any follow-up question?
No more question for me. Thank you.
Okay, thank you. I think we have addressed all the questions. We'll wait. If you have any follow-up questions, please type it in the Q&A box and we'll address it. Okay, I think we have a question coming from Arthur Pineda from Citi. There are two questions. First one is, where do you see the mobile industry revenue growth on an organic basis for 2025?
Then second is on, can you provide some colors on the growth band progress and expectation for 2025? Why is this not accelerating even with the relatively low market penetration? Is there a demand problem or capacity problem? I think the first question maybe Pa David can help address. Then second one is Pa Feiruz.
For the mobile industry revenue growth, as you could see, I think we have been for a few months that has been like a tough environment. A couple of reasons, right? One, as we were mentioned before, is the macro situation and also higher competitive status, right? I believe that moving forward, probably the market, it's going to be more rational. In that sense, we have positive news there.
Now we would like to see also some positive macro news so that we can see that the mobile industry starts recovering a little bit and going back to where it was at the beginning of last year. Again, like out of the two factors, the competition and the macro, I believe that the competition will start rationalizing and I'm confident that we have touched the bottom in there. Again, I think we need still the macro to come also and support, right?
I think the other and the second question to provide color on the broadband progress. We certainly see there's still a demand and potential, a very strong potential in this market. I think we also have to be mindful in terms of how to serve the demand, right?
As you're aware, on the backdrop of also a weaker economic, we need to be also trying to be very selective in terms of the kind of segments and how we serve, right? You've seen also in this market that the pricing competition, right, has also stepped up. We're also being very mindful and very selective in terms of trying to acquire the right segments and the quality customers. That's something that we are working on. I think the three pillars that Rajeev has highlighted provides you a color in terms of what are the areas that we intend to do, right, in this segment. Thank you.
Thank you, Pa Feiruz. Now I'd like to open the line for Arthur to ask follow-up question.
That's very clear. Sorry, just to clarify on the comment a while ago made to Ranjan on the 4% reduction.
When we look at the pro forma numbers for FY 2024, that does not adjust for any of the MNC numbers. How should I look at the FY 2024 pro forma numbers? Thank you.
Sorry, Arthur, can you clarify again your question about the 4% and then the—
yeah, sorry, on the MNC contributions, sorry if I did not catch this correctly. You said—yeah—there was an adjustment that needed to be made on the revenues by around 4%. Sorry, on First Media contributions, rather. When we look at the pro forma numbers, which is released on the presentation deck on the merger, that does not do any adjustment, right? We should reduce the revenues accordingly. Is that how we should look at this?
You are referring to the pro forma number for the merger, is it?
Yes. I think let me try and clarify that.
We reported a 2% growth in our revenue this quarter as compared to last quarter, last year's same quarter, Q1 2025 versus Q1 2024. In Q1 2024, the First Media business was not part of the base. If you exclude the First Media from Q1 2025 and compare like to like, we are speaking about a 5% decline. That is what was mentioned. The 2024 numbers in quarter four of 2024, the First Media business was consolidated. In 2024, there is no change in the numbers.
Understood. Thank you very much for clarifying.
Thank you, Arthur. If you have any follow-up question, please type it in the Q&A box. The next question comes from Paulus Jimmy from Sucor Sekuritas. There are two questions.
First one is on the can management provide the view on market repair, especially on the industry competition climate in Q2 and for the rest of 2025? Then second is the broadband subs is relatively flat on Q1 Q2 basis. What are the factors during the slower organic growth?
Okay, regarding the first question, I think in the past also we discussed, right? I think the last few quarters have been quite tough regarding competition, especially in the competition in the acquisition. There were like very cheap SIM card prices and products in the market. That has been the case, to be honest, until now. We believe that it's starting to change. It's starting to change, and we are confident that in the rest of the year, we hope to see much more rational, much more rational behavior in that acquisition market.
We are following, I mean, we are following more rational, and as I was mentioning before, we are trying to decrease the number of SKUs that we have out there in order to simplify our distribution. Again, we hope to see also from the market more rational behavior in that sense.
Yeah, on the second question, Jimmy, right? As we've highlighted, again, number one on the first pillar, so we're also focusing on migration, right, of the FM customers, right? That process is currently ongoing. We're managing that process. At the same time, we're also looking at very mindful in terms of how do we ensure quality acquisitions, right? Because we also don't want to go down the path of, how shall I say, going after the lower end of the customers at lower price. Hence, that explains the relatively stable, right, quarter-on-quarter basis. Thank you.
Thank you, Pa Feiruz and Pa David. I'd like to open the line for Jimmy if you have any follow-up question to us.
Yeah, thank you, Pa Feiruz. Just one follow-up question, Pa. Yeah, I think we have noticed that the normalization of the starter package has begun, and we see that we are just waiting for the old inventory to be flushed in the market, right? We also noticed that all the players are basically giving away, there are so many bonus quota, I would say, to basically retain all of these customers that are acquired during the previous quarters, right?
Should this be the trend that we should expect going forward for the rest of the year for, I mean, like lower data yield but higher data traffic, or are we still focusing on the market repair that we see during 2022 and 2023? Thank you.
Again, I can talk about ourselves, right? Yes, there is, I think, simplification also from competition regarding the SIM cards or the acquisition products, which we believe is good. I mean, we are doing it for distribution reasons, etc., but everything that comes in that direction is good. We are very focused on increasing the ARPUs. We believe that in order to increase the ARPUs, prices need to be reasonable. As you mentioned, there are a couple of things that you can do.
If you believe that the elasticity is decrease yields, not prices, decrease yields further and increase the usage, that's one way. The other way, it's like, no, I mean, let's have also price or yield reparation or stabilization, and when the usage comes, the monetization will come, right? We are more into a second one, to be honest. We believe that decreasing prices in order to decrease yield and give more than what we are giving already at very low yields in general in the market probably is not the correct way of moving forward, right? Our strategy, it's quality. It's going to go for ARPU increase, and in order to go in that direction, we believe simplification of the acquisition that will help a lot in the distribution as well, and price rationalization in order to get more monetization.
Thank you, but I think it's all clear from me.
Thank you, Jimmy. If you have any follow-up question from the floor, please type your question in the chat box or in the Q&A box. Okay, the next question comes from Theodorus Melvin from Stockbit. If the depreciation and home broadband costs decreasing on quarterly basis, can you elaborate on this trend? Is it due to cost efficiency? Maybe Anthony would like to give some colors.
Thank you. I think on the depreciation expenses, why it's decreasing in quarter one, I think one of the reasons is because there is a change of the accounting policies on the tower lease, especially because I think as we know that we are entering into a merger, so for a certain number of sites, we are negotiating with the tower providers to change to a one-year basis instead of a five-year basis. With that one, we need to apply the accounting policies using IFRS 16, which is where we have to record it as an OpEx. I think that's the reason why our depreciation expense goes down. Yeah, I hope that one answered the question. Thank you.
Thank you, Anthony. Now, Theodorus, do you have any follow-up question to us?
Yeah, thank you, Pa Anthony, for the answer.
Just want to follow up on the six broadband cost on a quarterly basis. I see the trend is going down. Can you explain what these trends are?
Which line are you referring to? To be clear,
the interconnection and the whole broadband.
Interconnection and home broadband. Are you referring to interconnection and what do you call this, direct expenses, is it?
Yeah.
Okay. It is not entirely related to home broadband, right? I think that bucket of the cost we have highlighted, one of the items is the impact of the increased COGS, cost of goods sold, due to the home broadband. It also relates to our enterprise business, right? Sometimes it is also due to timings, right, of the closure of the project at the end of the year.
Obviously, typically in the enterprise business, a lot more projects get closed at the end of the year compared to the first year. So there's a slight timing as well, right, in that cost bucket that relates to the enterprise business.
Perfect. Thanks for the explanation.
Thanks, Theodorus.
Thank you, Theodorus. All right, I think we have come to the end of our conference call today. We'd like to thank you for your participation and thank you for joining us today. If you have any further questions, please reach out to Investor Relations. We wish you stay safe, healthy, and we look forward to speaking with you next quarter. Thank you.