GMA Network Inc. said Tuesday net income fell 30 percent in 2017 in the absence of election-related spending.
The broadcast network said net income amounted to P2.55 billion last year, down from P3.64 billion in 2016 which received a boost from the national elections.
“Following a banner year in 2016 with the windfall of nearly P1.5 billion from the last national elections and compounded by contraction in the ad spend of major industry players this year, GMA Network and subsidiaries nevertheless managed to exceed prior year’s top line in terms of recurring sales,” GMA Network said.
The company said consolidated revenues also dropped 8 percent in 2017 to P15.34 billion from P16.67 billion in 2016, as airtime sales decreased 10 percent to P13.60 billion from P15.13 billion.
GMA Network said the shortfall in airtime revenues from both television and radio operations was partly cushioned by the improvement in other revenue streams which grew 13 percent last year.
“Without the one-time boost from political advocacies and advertisements this year, nearly all airtime revenue-generating platforms’ top-line performance paled in comparison to 2016. Core channel, GMA-7 which comprised about 81 percent of the consolidated revenues registered the biggest drop among airtime-revenue platforms with a setback of 10 percent compared to last year,” the listed company said.
“Sans the impact of more than a billion worth of non-recurring political load, the channel stood flat against last year’s tally in terms of recurring placements,” it said.
Consolidated operating expenses rose 2 percent in 2017 to P11.81 billion from P11.59 billion in 2016. Production cost and talent fees which comprised 55 percent of total consolidated operating expenses amounted to P6.43 billion, up 1 percent from 2016.
GMA said that in terms of television ratings, it led its main competitor in nationwide urban TV ratings in 2017 with an average people audience share of 42.5 percent, ahead of ABS-CBN’s 36.8 percent.