Beyond Cable allocates P1.5-B for capex this year

The Lopez-controlled Beyond Cable Holdings Inc. has earmarked P1.5 billion for its capital expenditures this year to pare down debts and sustain its dominance in the cable TV industry.

Benpres chief financial officer Angel Ong said the programmed capital budget will be used for debt refinancing and the deployment of set-up boxes to better serve the public.

Beyond Cable intend to provide a richer content and a wider range of programming choices for the viewing public.

The company has been in dialogue with its creditor-banks for the restructuring of P2.517 billion in secured and unsecured debts. The debt restructuring proposal was submitted to creditors last December.

It has also initiated discussions with its shareholders for additional equity infusion to fund the debt restructuring and to provide working capital.

Beyond Cable was organized to consolidate shareholder interests in Central CATV, Inc. (SKYCable), Philippine HomeCable Holdings, Inc. (HomeCable) and 51 percent of Pilipino Cable Corp. (PCC), which is Sun Cable. SKYCable has a 66.5-percent stake in Beyond Cable and the rest belong to HomeCable, which is 100 percent owned by Media Quest Holdings Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Beneficial Trust Fund of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.

SkyCable, on the other hand, is majority owned by Lopez Inc., a subsidiary of flagship firm Benpres Holdings Corp.

To improve cashflow, Beyond Cable will continue to consolidate operations and improve cost-saving efforts. These measures include reduction of programming costs by streamlining channels between SKY and Home/Sun brands, scaling down manpower through voluntary retrenchment and closure of offices and departments, and enhancing overall collections through clean up of subscriber base.

The enhancement of program line-up, driven by the return of the Star channels, coupled with aggressive promotional offers, helped Beyond Cable to maintain its 70-percent market leadership. As of end-2002, Beyond Cable had more than 200,000 subscribers.