Indonesia towers - Back to growth path
Over the past 2-3 years, organic growth has been slow for Indonesian towercos.
TBIG has released its 1H24 results. Headline 1H24 profit of IDR731bn (+6% y-y) came in slightly behind our FY24F projection. This was largely due to higher financing costs. However, at the core operating level, overall results were in line with our projections. In the coming quarters, we expect core EBITDA should see a recover, owing to: 1) lesser impact from mergers of telecom operators; 2) no more impact from spectrum refarmings by key telecom companies; 3) the impact of rental repricing from recent contract renewals being behind us; and 4) interest rates probably already at their peak. For these reasons, we think Indonesian tower cos should see better earnings recovery trajectories. Post results, we retain our Buy rating on the stock with TP of IDR2,300.
1H24 result summary
Valuation and risks
We derive our TP of IDR2,300 based on a DCF-based model, assuming a risk-free rate of 6.2%, cost of debt (after tax) of 5.3% (6.0% earlier), cost of equity of 14.4%, equity risk premium of 7.4%, WACC of 8.2%, a terminal growth rate of 2.5%, and beta of 1.1x. On our TP, the stock would trade at a FY24F EV/EBITDA of 13.5x (compared to 12.5x at the current price). Downside risks include adverse macroeconomic developments, irrational competition leading to lower rental rates, lower-than-projected tower renewals, slower organic growth, higher opex trends and/or co-location, and/or difficulties in securing new sites to accommodate telecom operators' network expansions.
INVESTMENT RATINGS
A rating of ‘Buy’, indicates that the analyst expects the stock to outperform the Benchmark over the next 12 months. A rating of ‘Neutral’, indicates that the analyst expects the stock to perform in line with the Benchmark over the next 12 months. A rating of ‘Reduce’, indicates that the analyst expects the stock to underperform the Benchmark over the next 12 months. A rating of ‘Suspended’, indicates that the rating, target price, and estimates have been suspended temporarily to comply with applicable regulations and/or firm policies. Securities and/or companies that are labelled as ‘Not Rated’ or ‘No Rating’ are not in regular research coverage. Benchmark is Indonesia Composite Index (‘IDX Composite’). A ‘Target Price’, if discussed, indicates the analyst’s forecast for the share price with a 12-month time horizon, reflecting in part of the analyst’s estimates for the company’s earnings, and may be impeded by general market and macroeconomic trends, and by other risks related to the company or the market in general.
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Nicholas Santoso
nicholas.santoso@verdhana.id
+62 (8170056575)
Erwin Wijaya
erwin.wijaya@verdhana.id
+62 (8113181902)
Raymond Kosasih, CFA
raymond.kosasih@verdhana.id
+62 (8121208888)