JAKARTA. The country’s second-largest telecommunications operator, PT XL Axiata, may review a possibility to sell some of its towers next year depending on the company’s future financial needs, the firm’s CEO has said.

Hasnul Suhaimi said on Tuesday that the company would first review whether selling more towers was the best option for the company to take.

“It will totally depend on whether we need the money or not. We will also review the possible effects to our company [if we sell more towers],” he said, adding that 4,500 towers may be on offer.

After selling 3,500 towers to tower operator PT Solusi Tunas Prima for Rp 5.6 trillion (US$461.3 million) earlier this month, XL has 5,500 towers left with a tenancy ratio of 1.6.

Hasnul said if the firm had to sell more towers, it would only sell those that were not fully occupied.

A number of telecommunication operators have released part ownership on their respective towers to independent tower operators in recent years, in a move to slash operating costs and to focus on their core telecommunications business.

Hasnul said previously in a statement that XL’s tower business contributed less than 3 percent, on average, of its total revenue.

XL’s revenue stood at Rp 11.55 trillion in the first half of this year, a 12.2 percent increase from Rp 10.2 trillion in the same period last year.

However, the publicly listed company recorded a net loss of Rp 482.52 billion, mainly due to the rupiah’s deprecation against the US dollar and rising interest costs related to the Axis acquisition.

As of June, the firm’s total liabilities totaled Rp 24.42 trillion, consisting of Rp 11.6 trillion and US dollar-denominated debts of $1.07 billion.

Hasnul said Tuesday that his firm would use all the Rp 5.6 trillion proceeds from its towers sale for Solusi — which is due to be paid up by the end of this year — to clear its debts, particularly those with high interest rates.

Arandi Nugraha, an analyst with Batavia Prosperindo Sekuritas, said previously that taking into account Solusi’s tower payment, XL’s debt to equity ratio would decrease from 2.32 to 1.89, and its debt to asset ratio would fall from 0.51 to 0.42.

“The debt reduction will significantly affect XL’s financial performance. However, the impact will only be seen next year,” he said as quoted by Kontan.

However, Hasnul said his firm would probably still incur losses if the rupiah continued to weaken. 

XL, which is owned by Malaysian telecommunications giant the Axiata Group, is currently boosting its data services to increase revenue, as 51 percent of its 62.9 million subscribers are data users.

XL introduced on Tuesday a trial for the mobile 4G network, which offers fast Internet access of up to 100 Mbs.

The network is currently being tested at the Kota Kasablanka and Central Park malls, the Euphoria Lounge at Menara Prima, XL Xplor in Senayan City mall, XL Xplor in Central Park and Grha XL.

XL’s shares, which are traded under the code EXCL, slumped 2.95 percent to close at Rp 5,750 apiece on Tuesday, down from Rp 5,925 the previous day. The company’s stocks have gained 10.6 percent so far this year, under the broader Jakarta Composite Index’s (JCI) 17 percent advance.(Khoirul Amin)

Editor: Yudho Winarto