CONTRALADORA AXEL SAB

What it is

Axtel is a Mexican information and communications technology company founded in 1997, operating through its commercial brands Alestra and Axtel Networks (Axnet), offering advanced technology solutions to help businesses evolve and develop technologically. It operates through Enterprise, Government and Wholesale segments, offering managed networks, cloud services, cybersecurity and connectivity — last-mile access, IP transit, fibre-to-the-tower and data centres.

In Mexico, Axtel has more than 50,000 kilometres of fibre-optic network and a presence in over 90% of industrial parks, making it infrastructure, not just a service layer. Government revenues represented 11% of total income in both 2024 and 2023.

Who owns it

Controladora Axtel was created as the result of a spin-off of ALFA, S.A.B. de C.V.’s entire stake in Axtel, approved by ALFA shareholders on 12 July 2022; as a result, ALFA shareholders received one Controladora Axtel share for every ALFA share they held.

Controladora Axtel is therefore publicly owned, with its shares dispersed among former ALFA investors.

As of the date of the 2024 Annual Report, Axtel’s capital stock comprises 19,460,372,893 ordinary shares, of which Controladora Axtel holds 54.9%, giving it firm control of the operating subsidiary. The remaining ~45% of Axtel trades freely on the BMV as AXTELCPO.

Who runs it

Armando de la Peña joined Axtel in 2022 as Chief Executive Officer; before that he led Sigma Foodservice and held senior roles across Alfa, Sigma and Terza, including Director of Latin America and Director of Human Capital at Alfa. Adrián de los Santos has been Executive Finance Director since 2017, having joined Axtel in 2006 after roles in institutional and corporate banking in Monterrey, London and New York.

At the Annual General Meeting of 18 March 2025, shareholders approved the 2024 Annual Report and designated Álvaro Fernández Garza as Chairman of the Board.

The money, in plain words

Full-year 2024 revenue reached Ps. 11,556M (~US$658M), a 5% rise year-on-year.

Gross profit — what remains after the direct cost of providing services — was Ps. 6.2B (~US$353M), a gross margin of roughly 54% (our calculation), solid for a network business.

The bottom line, however, is still negative. For the year ended 31 December 2024, Axtel generated operating income of Ps.

1,334M (~US$76M), but the full-year financing cost reached Ps. 2,420M (~US$138M), wiping out the operating gain and producing a net loss.

The drag comes largely from dollar-denominated debt at a time when the peso weakened. While most of Axtel’s revenues are in pesos, 63% of its debt at 31 December 2024 was denominated in dollars, creating a currency mismatch that amplifies losses whenever the peso falls.

On the balance sheet, the company held cash of approximately Ps. 636M (~US$36M), against total financial debt of approximately Ps.

9,195M (~US$524M), giving net debt of roughly Ps. 8,559M (~US$487M) — our calculation.

The net-debt-to-operating-cashflow ratio stood at 2.5 times at year-end 2024, manageable but not comfortable.

What it is doing now

Management’s clearest priority is cutting debt and reducing currency risk. Since December 2024, total debt prepayments amount to approximately US$90M — a 15% reduction in total debt — and in December the company executed a Ps.

1,600M, 10-year loan to refinance existing shorter-term obligations. As a result, the average debt maturity extended from three to four years and the share of peso-denominated debt rose to roughly 60%, shrinking the currency exposure.

The bond-rating agencies noticed: Fitch Ratings upgraded Axtel’s credit rating from ‘BB−’ to ‘BB’ with a stable outlook, supported by expectations of continued deleveraging in 2026. Meanwhile, on the commercial side, Axtel announced a strategic tie-up with McAllen Data Centers to improve digital interconnection on the Mexico–US border, reinforcing a more open and scalable digital ecosystem.

What to watch

• Debt clock: Management guides for Ps. 12,850M in 2026 revenues and Ps. 3,800M in operating cashflow, which, if delivered, would reduce the net-debt-to-cashflow ratio meaningfully — the single number that decides whether this is a recovery or a restructuring story.
• Currency risk: Changes in the relative value of the peso against the dollar could have an adverse effect, since most capital investment and 63% of debt at end-2024 was dollar-denominated.
• Regulatory wildcard: A constitutional reform published in October 2024 amended rules to allow the Mexican government to exercise exclusive provision of internet services, a cloud over any private network operator’s long-term pricing power.
• Hyperscaler demand: Wholesale revenues from hyperscalers and local operators grew 12% in Q1 2025 — the fastest-growing segment and the one most tied to Mexico’s nearshoring boom.

This is news, not investment advice.