GMA Network Inc. said Monday net income surged 78 percent in the first nine months to P3.90 billion from P2.19 billion a year ago despite the absence of incremental sales from the 2019 elections.
Consolidated revenues in the nine-month period rose 4 percent to P12.65 billion from P12.21 billion. “The successful launch of GMA Affordabox, the company’s version of the digital set top box, further boosted this year’s revenues since it was launched in June,” the network said.
“Sans the windfall in 2019 from political advocacies and advertisements, as well as this year’s sale of GMA Affordabox, recurring revenues posted an improvement of 7 percent year-on-year.
GMA said the increase in TV advertising, particularly in the third quarter, propelled the growth in year-to-date airtime sales and wiped out the setback in the second quarter at the height of the pandemic.
All airtime-revenue generating platforms enjoyed top-line gains versus a year ago, it said.
“The upswing in advertising revenues was further boosted by online/digital sales, which, for the past nine months posted the biggest improvement percentage-wise at 36 percent,” GMA said.
Meanwhile, ABS-CBN Corp., which lost its congressional franchise to operate Channel 2, said it incurred a net loss of P7.22 billion in the first nine months, compared to the P2.59-billion net profit it booked in the same period last year.
Consolidated revenues tumbled to P17.03 billion in the nine-month period from P32.02 billion a year earlier. “Advertising revenues suffered a sharp decline in the second quarter of 2020 following the issuance on May 5, 2020, by the National Telecommunications Commission of a cease-and-desist order to the company, prohibiting its continuing broadcast operations effective immediately,” ABS-CBN said.
The House committee on legislative franchises voted to adopt a resolution denying the franchise application of the company.
“These events in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic that the country is facing, drove down both the advertising and consumer revenues of the company,” ABS-CBN said.
Direct costs and expenses amounted to P23.6 billion, down by 18.4 percent from a year ago while production cost decreased by 23 percent.
Sky Cable Corp., however, posted a 4-percent increase in revenues as broadband subscribers increased to more than 300,000 by the end of the third quarter.
ABS-CBN’s total revenues generated from digital platforms amounted to P294 million, down by 23.9 percent from a year earlier.