GoTo Plans to Step Up Share Buybacks, CFO Says — Interview

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(08:29 GMT) *GoTo Aims to Step Up Share Buybacks to Return Value to Shareholders, CFO Says (08:29 GMT) *GoTo CFO Hasn't Seen Any Significant Impact From Mideast Conflict on Business So Far (08:29 GMT) *GoTo CFO: Indonesia's Fuel Subsidies Helping Cushion Against Mideast Headwinds (08:29 GMT) *GoTo CFO: Aiming for Operating Results to Improve Over Coming Quarters (08:29 GMT) *GoTo CFO: Always Open to M&A Discussions (08:30 GMT) GoTo Plans to Step Up Share Buybacks, CFO Says — Interview By Kimberley Kao SoftBank-backed GoTo Gojek Tokopedia remains open to merger-and-acquisition opportunities, and plans to boost shareholder returns as earnings improve, its chief financial officer says. GoTo, one of Indonesia's largest ride-hailing companies, plans to step up share buybacks as part of a more systematic approach to capital allocation, CFO Simon Ho said after the company posted its first-ever quarterly net profit. "From where we were buying back [shares] in the last two quarters, we will step that up and increase in line with the improvement in cash flows," Ho said. GoTo, which is also backed by Alibaba, has spent just $140 million on share buybacks since June 2024. This is despite the company receiving shareholder approval for a $200 million buyback program which ended in June 2025, then getting the green light for another same-sized program due to close next month. It spent $12 million on share buybacks in the first quarter of this year. While previous repurchases were largely opportunistic, Ho said the company now aims to make them more sustainable. "The core profitability of the operations [is] getting better," he said. "We hope that [share buybacks] will continue to grow." The CFO's comments came just a day before Indonesia announced plans to cut the cap on commission that ride-hailing platforms can collect from drivers. GoTo said in a statement that it is seeking more information about the policy and will in time "conduct a holistic assessment and plan the most suitable business plan in order to implement the relevant provisions." Rival ride-hailing platform Grab has also said that it is looking for clarity on the regulatory change. Amid intense competition in Southeast Asia's ride-hailing and food-delivery market, there has long been speculation about a merger of GoTo and Singapore-based Grab. Talks of a potential combination gained steam late last year after media reports emerged citing an Indonesian government official as saying that a deal was being discussed. GoTo responded to the media speculation at the time by saying that it hadn't reached any agreement with Nasdaq-listed Grab, which declined to comment on the reports. Analysts have estimated that a combined entity would hold a market share of about 90% in Indonesia's ride-hailing and delivery market. GoTo has a market cap of $3.3 billion while Grab's stands at $15.5 billion, according to LSEG data. When asked about a possible tie-up with Southeast Asia's largest ride-hailing company, Ho said there was nothing new to report. The Indonesia-listed company is generally open to M&A but Ho said organic growth remains the priority. "We just have to, obviously, look after our stakeholders' interests. So we're open-minded," he said. On the business impact of rising fuel prices due to the Middle East conflict, Ho said GoTo has yet to see a significant effect partly due to the Indonesian government's subsidies, though a prolonged war could weigh on consumer sentiment and the broader economy. "Internally, we've done scenario planning, stress testing, and we're trying to get ourselves prepared for it," he said. "I cannot quantify that [impact]". GoTo maintained its full-year adjusted Ebitda guidance of 3.2 trillion rupiah to 3.4 trillion rupiah, the equivalent of $184.5 million to $196 million, as it waits to see how the Middle East situation develops. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization are GoTo's key measure of profitability. Ho said the company will continue to keep costs tight, citing measures such as a shift to Chinese cloud providers Alibaba and Tencent, which has already generated significant savings. "We do aim for the operating results to improve over the next several quarters," he said, adding that if the Middle East situation stabilizes, he remains confident that the company will hit or exceed its financial targets. Write to Kimberley Kao at [email protected]

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