GMA profit up 22% to P1.087 billion in January-May

MANILA, Philippines - GMA Network Inc. continued its growth momentum despite a challenging economic environment with its net earnings rising 22 percent in the first five months of the year on sustained TV ratings supremacy in Mega Manila as well as manageable expenses.

In a statement, GMA-7 said its net profit for the period January to May 2009 hit P1.087 billion as against P890 million in the same period last year as revenues expanded by seven-percent to P4.95 billion. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to P1.854 billion, up 12 percet from a year earlier.

In May alone, revenues reached a record high P1.31 billion or an increase of 17 percent over the previous level. This, coupled with lower expenses, resulted in a 48 percent jump in net profit to P360 million.

Total operating expenses were contained, rising only three percent to P2.65 billion. 

Felipe S. Yalong, chief finance officer of GMA, attributed the network’s strong financial results to continuous leadership in TV ratings in viewer-rich Mega Manila and Total Urban Luzon. “We are consistently ahead in TV ratings in Mega Manila and Urban Luzon, which account for a huge part of the total market. Likewise, we are the most cost efficient for advertisers,” Yalong said

Yalong also pointed out that based on the latest survey conducted by AGB Nielsen, GMA-7 stressed notched a total day household audience share of 40.2 percent for the month of May compared with perennial rival ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp.’s 31 percent.

Total assets stood at P12.3 billion, slightly higher than last year while liabilities declined by 21 percent to P3.2 billion.

Given its steady strong performance, GMA-7 paid out P1.7 billion in cash dividends to its shareholders in May 2009. It also declared a 1.5-month mid-year bonus for all its regular employees.

GMA-7 is eyeing a double-digit growth in net profit and gross revenues this year on renewed appetite for corporate advertisement spending. In 2008, the network chalked up a net income of P2.37 billion or 2.7 percent higher than the year earlier level.