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ajor taxi operator Blue Bird is preparing up to Rp 1.7 trillion (US$126.52 million) in capital expenditure (capex) for next year mostly to increase the size of its fleet of vehicles.

Blue Bird finance director Robert Rerimassie said the company'€™s capex for next year would not differ much from this year'€™s figure, considering the economic situation.

The company, he said, had planned to disburse between Rp 1.5 trillion and Rp 1.7 trillion next year, depending on how the country'€™s economy would look in 2016.

The capital, said Robert, would mostly be used to add new taxis and a smaller portion would be allocated to purchase land for new pools.

'€œWe are planning to add around 1,700 vehicles to our fleet next year,'€ he told reporters at the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) on Thurssday.

Robert said the company planned to buy 1,500 regular taxis this year and had so far bought around 900. Previously, the company had aimed to buy as many as 4,500 to 5,000 this year.

He also suggested that the company might spend between Rp 1.4 trillion and Rp 1.5 trillion of capex this year, as opposed to previous reports that Blue Bird aimed at disbursing Rp 2 trillion during 2015.

Blue Bird, which currently still holds the largest share of the taxi market at 43.6 percent, has been permitted by the government to increase its fleet by up to 6,000 this year. But, the company will not maximize its spending given the reduced expansion plans.

'€œWhen we thought that economic conditions had started to pick up, the country recorded deflation in October, meaning that purchasing power is still weak at the moment,'€ he said.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced on Monday that deflation was recorded in October, the second consecutive month of falling prices. According to the agency, the deflation rate stood at 0.08 percent in October, deeper than the 0.05 percent deflation rate recorded in September.

Despite the slowing economy and weaker purchasing power, as well as rising competition from online-based transportation companies, Blue Bird still managed to boost its sales and net profits by double-digits annually in the first nine months.

The company'€™s profits rose 13.5 percent to Rp 881.27 billion in the January to September period of this year, from Rp 776 billion in the same period last year, according to its recently published unaudited financial report.

Blue Bird booked a 16.27 percent increase in revenue to Rp 4 trillion in the first nine months of the year, compared with Rp 3.44 trillion year-on-year.

Robert said the company expected to see its top line growing by 17 percent this year and its bottom line was projected to go up by around 12 to 13 percent. He added that next year the company expected to see its revenues growing by around 18 percent from this year'€™s figure, assuming that macroeconomic conditions would be similar to this year.

Blue Bird, which went public in October 2014, recorded the biggest initial public offering (IPO) last year with Rp 2.45 trillion raised, after trimming the company'€™s target to reap around Rp 4.8 trillion due to '€œunfavorable market conditions'€.

Proceeds from the IPO, according to Robert, are being used to finance this year'€™s and next year'€™s capex, with the company planning to source external funds to be added into its 2015 expenditure.