PT Indosat Tbk (Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison) posted impressive financial results throughout the first half of 2026. The telecommunications company's business momentum recorded double-digit growth, driven by the successful strategic transition to an artificial intelligence (AI)-based technology company.
During the six-month period ending June 30, 2026, the issuer with the ticker ISAT successfully booked revenue of IDR 30.7 trillion, a jump of 13.1 percent year-on-year (YoY). Correspondingly, EBITDA grew by 14 percent to IDR 14.6 trillion with a solid margin of 47.6 percent. Meanwhile, normalized net profit skyrocketed by 49.2 percent YoY, reaching IDR 3.2 trillion.
President Director and Chief Executive Officer of Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, Vikram Sinha, revealed that this stellar performance validates the effectiveness of the company's tactical roadmap named 'AI North Star'. This strategy guides the transformation of the corporate identity from a conventional connectivity provider to a pioneer of artificial intelligence-based technology in the country.
The AI implementation is now starting to be directly integrated into operational services and customers' digital experiences. The presence of security features such as anti-spam and anti-scam protection, the Sahabat-AI platform, Gemini AI integration, and the Adobe Express collaboration directly contribute to increased productivity and user satisfaction. The positive impact is evident from a 19.9 percent YoY surge in data traffic, a 17.3 percent increase in average revenue per user (ARPU) to IDR 46,000, and a customer base that remains strong at 93.4 million.
To ensure long-term business sustainability, Indosat also implemented an asset-light strategy through a strategic partnership with Arsari Group to establish PT Infra Fiber Teknologi (IFT). This move involves transferring the management of over 86,000 kilometers of fiber optic infrastructure, generating financial flexibility worth IDR 11.7 trillion to fund new expansion. On the other hand, the AI Cloud business line showed accelerated performance, generating revenue of USD 33 million in the first half of 2026, surpassing its achievement for the entire previous year.
Network strengthening also continues through the addition of a new 80 MHz frequency spectrum to bolster the performance of Indosat5G and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services. This network modernization step did not overlook environmental sustainability aspects, where AI-based energy efficiency successfully reduced the company's carbon emission intensity by 50.89 percent. This eco-friendly achievement led Indosat to be included in three KEHATI ESG Indexes.
At the regional level, the East Java region remains one of the vital contributors to the company's growth. EVP Head of Circle Java of Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, Fahd Yudhanegoro, explained that data usage in his work area grew by 9.6 percent YoY, with total active customers exceeding 14 million in the second quarter of 2026.
Fahd added that the successful market penetration in East Java was supported by a social initiative program called 'Desa Terkoneksi' (Connected Village), which reaches 230 rural villages. Supported by the availability of infrastructure in the form of nearly 25,000 4G BTS units and 650 5G BTS units, this program has successfully opened digital literacy channels for rural communities while independently and sustainably driving the local economy.
