ABS-CBN posts record P3.2-B income in 2010

MANILA, Philippines -  Multimedia conglomerate ABS-CBN Corp. announced yesterday a record net income of P3.2 billion last year, up 87 percent from 2009, as political advertising lifted revenues.

In a briefing, ABS-CBN chief finance officer Rolando Valdueza said consolidated revenues rose 30 percent to P32.2 billion, P21.7 billion of which came from advertisements.

“This increase is attributable to the surge in total advertising minutes sold, programmed rate increase that took effect in February 2010 and political advertisement,” Valdueza said.

Valdueza said the network expects to match last year’s performance despite the absence of election-related advertisements due to improving contributions from ABS-CBN Global and SkyCable.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to P8.6 billion, 33 percent higher than the previous level of P6.51 billion.

ABS-CBN maintained its national audience share and ratings leadership last year with total day audience share averaging 43 percent, based on a survey by Kantar Media

Total expenses went up 20 percent to P3.8 billion, mainly due to higher production costs and general and administrative expenses.

Production costs increased 25 percent to P7.9 billion, as ABS-CBN strategically increased programming hours of in-house produced primetime dramas, afternoon programs and variety shows to meet viewer needs and advertiser demand.

ABS-CBN Global ended 2010 with a total of 2.4 million subscribers worldwide or an increase of 18 percent from the previous year. With new cable distribution partnerships driving subscriber acquisition, overall subscriber count grew 71 percent in Canada. In Australia, satellite TV subscriptions generated a 10-percent growth as affordable and flexible plans continued to attract new direct-to- home subscribers.

Subscriber growth in Asia-Pacific, on the other hand, rose five percent with the launch of The Filipino Channel in Taiwan and Hong Kong and additional channels in Guam.

Meanwhile, SkyCable registered a 10-percent rise in revenues last year with broadband posting a 64-percent growth year-on-year on the back of a 36-percent rise in subscriptions. The company also reported a five percent growth in post paid cable subscriptions, driven by the lower-end P280 and P499 packages.

In line with continued move towards digitization, SkyCable launched the Sky Broadband Ultra High Speed Internet connection subscription that offers speeds of up to 112 mbps. This offering greatly complemented the revolutionary online access to entertainment product- iWantv, which also originated in 2010.

ABS-CBN spent P3.7 billion last year for capital expenditures and program rights acquisition, 25 percent higher than its level of spending a year earlier.

ABS-CBN produces a wide variety of engaging world-class entertainment programs in several genres and balanced credible news programs that are aired on free-to-air TV via Channels 2 (VHF) and 23 (UHF) and a regional network of TV and radio stations nationwide. It also provides news and entertainment programming for nine channels on cable TV. The company owns the leading film and music production and distribution outfit in the Philippines, and has interests in cable TV, Internet and mobile services, and glossy-magazine publishing. It brings its content to worldwide audiences via cable, satellite and the Internet, primarily through ABS-CBN Global’s The Filipino Channel (TFC).