GMA 7 posts 40% income surge to P900M in 9 mos

GMA Network Inc., the country’s second largest TV network, reported a net income of over P900 million in the first nine months of the year or 40 percent higher than the previous year-period.

Felipe Yalong, GMA senior vice-president for corporate finance, said: "We’re ahead of target. We’re happy with the results. We have breached the P900-million mark for the first nine months."

Yalong said with the significant increase in GMA-7’s net income for the period, the company can easily breach the P1-billion mark for the whole year. "We are now more confident that we can surpass the P1-billion mark," he stressed.

GMA-7 is projecting its net income to reach about P1.2 billion this year as it expects advertising revenues to drive growth. The company raised its advertising rates by 15 percent last July.

But Yalong pointed out that their rates are still 25 to 30 percent cheaper than those of its closest competitor.

He said GMA-7 has been reporting better profits every month as evidenced by the increase in its monthly net income for the past several months.

Management has expressed satisfaction over the company’s performance for the first nine months which has shown better figures in terms of increases and ratio of net income to gross airtime revenues than its rival network.

GMA-7 expects further growth with the forthcoming launch of its international channel and the re-opening of its UHF channel.

It hopes to tap the international market early next year with the United States as its first test market. The company is currently in talks with two of the biggest direct-to-home operators in the US to jumpstart its planned expansion.

The company will launch its international channel initially in North America, where there is a large concentration of Filipinos.

Apart from this, GMA-7 is planning to beef up its radio operations and programs to further enhance its revenue stream.

The TV network also intends to develop a regional station to further broaden its presence nationwide.

GMA-7 has already strengthened its presence in Davao and is looking into further expanding its services to other provinces to increase its audience share.

The company has a network of 45 VHF and two affiliate stations nationwide, and can be seen in a number of households in Asia, Australia and Hawaii via satellite. It can also be heard on the airwaves through dzBB-AM and dwLS-FM in Manila; dySS-AM and dyRT-FM in Cebu; and in 27 RGMA radio stations throughout the country.