The corona virus pandemic (Covid-19) raised the income of telecommunications sector issuers

Reporter: Hikma Dirgantara | Editor: Handoyo.

KONTAN.CO.ID – JAKARTA. The corona virus pandemic that has pressed various business lines has actually become a positive catalyst for issuers in the telecommunications sector. With the implementation of policies Work from Home (WFH) and School from Home (SFH), the use of data and the internet has increased to become a positive catalyst for the telecommunications sector.

During the first half of this year, telecommunication sector revenue generally increased. PT Indosat Tbk (ISAT) for example, this issuer managed to book revenue of Rp. 13.45 trillion. The acquisition is an increase of 9.4% compared to the same period the previous year which was only Rp 12.39 trillion.

PT Smartfren Telecom Tbk (BRAKE) also managed to record an increase in income in the first semester of 2020. FREN pocketed revenue of Rp 4.30 trillion or an increase of 41.98% on an annual basis year on year (yoy).

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Meanwhile, PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (TLKM) actually experienced a decrease in income. TLKM is recorded to have obtained a consolidated income of Rp 66.85 trillion in the last six months. This amount decreased slightly compared to the same period the previous year where TLKM recorded Rp 69.34 trillion.

Meanwhile, PT XL Axiata Tbk (EXCL) until now, the financial report for the first semester of 2020 has not been released. However, EXCL’s revenue in the first quarter of 2020 increased by 9% to Rp 6.4 trillion.

Kresna Sekuritas analyst Etta Rusdiana Putra said the difference in the performance of telecommunications issuers in the first semester indicated the tight competition. This is reflected in the performance of smaller players such as ISAT and FREN which have shown improvement in performance, while big players such as TLKM have difficulty maintaining revenue growth.

“The difference in performance between big players and small players indicates that consumers are still price sensitive, especially when the economy is slowing down as it is today. With increasingly fierce competition, network and operational efficiency will determine the business continuity of telecommunications issuers, “Etta told Kontan.co.id, Saturday (8/8).

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Etta sees this as reflected in the performance of TLKM which has succeeded in maintaining its net profit because it recorded a 25% decrease in operating expenses year on year. Meanwhile ISAT in terms of operational expenses only decreased by 1.52% while FREN actually increased by 11.83%.

Meanwhile, Samuel Sekuritas analyst Selvi Ocktaviani said that actually TLKM could record an increase in net profit in the first half of this.

“This is due to TLKM recording an impairment loss in the investment value of its ownership in Tiphone (TELE) amounting to IDR 342 billion. If not accompanied by this loss, actually TLKM can record an increase in profit, “said Selvi.