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axi operator PT Express Transindo Utama (TAXI) will slow down expansion in 2015 as it plans to deploy its recently purchased bus and premium taxi units to spur growth, an executive with the firm has said.

The company, known for its Express taxi brand, will not go all-out to purchase new cars for its regular taxi fleet, according to Express corporate secretary Merry Anggraini.

'€œWe expanded quite aggressively between 2010 and 2014, purchasing more than 2,000 cars per year. This year we will consolidate our businesses to provide better services. So we won'€™t be buying that many cars in 2015,'€ she said on Monday.

At present, Express operates around 11,000 regular taxis in several cities, namely Jakarta, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi, Surabaya, Semarang, Medan and Padang.

Merry said the taxi operator '€” part of Peter Sondakh'€™s conglomerate Rajawali Corpora '€” would maximize the use of its newly purchased bus and premium taxi units starting in the first quarter of 2015.

'€œWe purchased 150 buses and 300 cars for our premium taxi fleet in the fourth quarter of 2014. Now it'€™s time to deploy them,'€ she added.

The buses and premium taxis, according to Merry, will be deployed in Jakarta only.

Meanwhile, to finance its expansion in 2015, Express will allocate Rp 400 billion (US$31.83 million) from its capital expenditure budget, sourced from both bank loans and internal funds.

'€œWe will also use the funds to improve our internal technology system and finance the establishment of new taxi depots,'€ Merry said, adding that the company would need one new depot for every additional 200 cars.

The number of Express taxi depots now stands at 36, with the most located in Jakarta, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi.

Merry said the company would look for opportunities to expand in other areas, especially in second-tier cities such as Solo, Central Java and Malang, East Java. '€œWe would like to see the result of our analysis before making any further decisions,'€ she said.

She declined to provide details on this year'€™s business targets, saying that it would first analyze the progress of its bus and premium taxi fleet and their contributions to its finances.

Express has not published its 2014 full-year financial report, but as previously reported, it had set a net profit increase target of 20 percent. '€œHowever, target was set for normal conditions, without considering one-time gains, such as foreign exchange gain,'€ Merry said.

Its 2013 financial report shows that it booked Rp 132.61 billion in its bottom line.

Meanwhile, a statement recently published on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) website stated that Mondrian Investment Partners Limited '€” a company incorporated in England and Wales '€” officially owned a 6.45 percent stake in Express after completing a purchase that took place from December to January.

'€œThe shares were bought from the public, not from Rajawali Corpora,'€ Merry said. Rajawali remains the largest shareholder with 51 percent.

Data from the IDX said that Express'€™ shares fell 0.8 percent to Rp 1,185 on Monday from last Friday.