Numbers were decent off its higher growth adjacent businesses where non-Tower contribution now stands at 33% of sales. While near-term tower headwind is anticipated now that the merger between XL and Smartfren is approved, TOWR’s exposure to FTTT and FTTH should act as support as telcos expand into the home broadband and into rural Indonesia.
February was another good month for our top EM Telcos, now up 15% YTD on average. This note also includes key news & other thoughts in order to help investors generate alpha within the EM Telco space. With performance strong so far, we make no changes to our picks.
We update the NSR GEM Top Picks list. No stocks are dropped, and we add LILAC and TIM Brasil to our list, extending it to a Top-10 list from Top-8. Our picks had a good start, up 12% on average since the start of the year. This note also includes key news & other thoughts in order to help investors generate alpha within the EM Telco space.
EXCL’s holiday data traffic increased 19% vs normal days, higher than ISAT’s (more than 10% on 1 Jan 25). We maintain OVERWEIGHT on the telecommunications sector in view of factors such as: a) rising data traffic, b) relatively resilient demand for telco services, and c) potential industry consolidation which could support data monetisation in the long term. Our top picks are EXCL (BUY/Target: Rp3,200) and ISAT (BUY/Target: Rp3,100).
Protelindo saw revenue and EBITDA trends accelerate this quarter helped by the IBST consolidation. As a result, revenue YTD are now trending above the 4-6% guidance. There was some slowdown in FTTT this quarter but growth remained robust.
Mitratel delivered a faster topline and EBITDA trend, backed by healthy colocations and cost efficiencies again. Q4 is expected to slow as the M&A impact from its acquisition of PT Gametraco laps, but given the pace of EBITDA growth thus far (YTD +12%) and consensus at 9% for the full year, the bar is low going into Q4 (implies 2% growth).
Revenue and EBITDA trends improved again for China Tower, which alongside stable depreciation supported bottom-line momentum. In Indonesia, MTEL and TOWR continued to perform where the latter benefited from faster growth in its Fibre business thus should act as a buffer should the XL and Smartfren deal were to proceed.
GREATER CHINA Sector Metals And Mining Gold: Rally takes a breather; downside cushioned by escalating geopolitical tensions. INDONESIA Update Sarana Menara Nusantara (TOWR IJ/HOLD/Rp850/Target: Rp930) 2Q24: Revenue from non-tower business jumps 30% yoy. Downgrade to HOLD. MALAYSIA Strategy Budget 2025 Preview: Building Sustainable Growth While Budget 2025 is seen as market-neutral, it is suppor...
TOWR recorded 1H24 EBITDA of Rp5.1t, in line with our and consensus estimates. However, its 1H24 NPAT of Rp1.6t was slightly below our and consensus expectations. Last July, iForte completed the acquisition of 90.1% of IBST with acquisition value of Rp3.4t. We are monitoring for more clarity regarding TOWR’s rights issue plan (EGM scheduled on 25 Oct 24) and potential merger between FREN and EXCL. Downgrade to HOLD with a target price of Rp930, due to valuation.
We maintain OVERWEIGHT on the telecommunications sector in view of several factors: a) telcos’ 2024/25 mobile data revenue could grow 8%/7% yoy, b) digital channels (penetration ranging from 29% to 55%) could help improve ARPU, c) telcos’ EBITDA growth could reach 8% yoy in 2024 and 4% yoy in 2025, and d) attractive valuation with many telcos trading at -1SD EV/EBITDA. Our top pick is EXCL (BUY/Target: Rp2,900).
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