TV rivals book higher profits in Jan-Mar

MANILA, Philippines - Rivals ABS-CBN Corp. and GMA Network Inc. booked higher earnings in the first quarter of the year arising from additional revenues from political advertisements.

ABS-CBN reported yesterday a 66 percent jump in net income to P508 million from January to March this year compared to P306 million in the same period last year on the back of strong regular advertising revenues as well as election-related ads.

ABS-CBN generated consolidated revenues surged 21 percent to P7.9 billion as advertising revenues grew 22 percent to P4.4 billion while consumer sales increased by 18 percent to P3.5 billion.

Its cable TV arm Sky Cable continued to be a major driver of growth with revenues increasing by 43 percent to P1.6 billion due to the acquisition of Destiny Cable.  

Total costs and expenses increased by 17 percent to P7.2 billion brought about by increases in production costs, cost of sales and services, and general and administrative expenses.

Capital expenditure and film and program rights acquisition amounted to P1.1 billion which was the same level of spending last year.

ABS-CBN chief finance officer Rolando Valdueza said the company sees its net income hitting P2 billion this year after plunging 29 percent to P1.81 billion last year from P2.42 billion in 2011 due to the sale of the debt instruments of SkyCable.

“We are looking at P2 billion consolidated net income for 2013,” Valdueza stressed.

On the other hand, GMA reported that its net income surged 55 percent to P603 million from January to March this year compared to P388 million in the same period last year while revenues grew 24 percent to P3.24 billion from P2.62 billion.

The company attributed the marked improvement in earnings and revenues from the rise in airtime revenues that surged 26 percent to P2.950 billion from P2.33 billion.

Political advocacies and advertisements provided incremental revenues in the topline amounting to 12 percent of the increase, recurring advertisements still contributed the greater balance or 14 percent of the total revenue hike.

Felipe L. Gozon, chairman and chief executive officer of GMA, said the company was more than pleased with its performance in the first quarter of the year.

“Such improvements validate our forecast that 2013 will be a particularly strong year for GMA. Our sales continue to grow at a steady pace and we look forward to the future with optimism,” Gozon stressed.

Revenues of GMA’s flagship Channel 7 reflected a 26 percent upsurge while that of GMA’s Regional TV operations grew by a robust 85 percent following its continued expansion programs.

Two new originating stations namely GMA Ilocos and GMA Bicol (formerly a satellite station) opened in the second half of last year, while the Cagayan de Oro satellite station was also upgraded into an originating station in the first quarter of this year.

These newly operational originating stations along with the rest of the Regional TV stations showed remarkable improvements in their respective top lines with the Cebu and Dagupan originating stations still leading the roster.

The company’s total operating expenses, on the other hand, grew by only 13 percent to P2.371 billion year-on-year primarily on increased production costs in an effort to further strengthen its programming.