GMA Network’s financial performance continued to trend upward as it reported a net income of P2.378 billion for the first half of 2016, achieving a 116 percent increase versus last year’s P1.099 billion. Consolidated revenues for the six-month period jumped 32 percent to P8.760 billion on the back of election-related earnings together with the sustained growth in recurring advertisements.
Combined airtime sales reached a record P8.065 billion, equivalent to a 33 percent or P1.996 billion increase over last year. Discounting the impact of political ads, airtime revenues still grew by 10 percent. “It definitely exceeded our expectations for the year,” said GMA Chairman and CEO lawyer Felipe L. Gozon of the company’s strong financial performance. “In fact, our net income for the first semester of 2016 is already higher than our bottomline for 2015 by at least P250 million. We are hoping that this momentum will continue well into the remaining quarters,” he added.
Operating expenses posted a single-digit growth of only 7 percent to P5.384 billion, as total production cost and general and administrative expenses (GAEX) rose by 6 and 7 percent, respectively. GMA ended mid-year with earnings before interests, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of P4.177 billion, up by 73 percent from the same period last year.
On television, GMA maintained its ratings dominance in Urban Luzon and Mega Manila based on Nielsen TV Audience Measurement data covering the second quarter of the year.
In Urban Luzon, GMA registered a 39.6 percent household audience share, higher than ABS-CBN’s 31.4 percent. Meanwhile, in Mega Manila, GMA posted an audience share of 41.8 percent, ahead of ABS-CBN’s 28.1 percent.
The Network likewise solidified its position as the preferred source of news and information during events of national significance as it captured majority of the viewers in National Urban Philippines for both the 2016 national elections and the Presidential and Vice Presidential inauguration coverage.
GMA News and Public Affairs’ Eleksyon 2016 special coverage last May 9 recorded an average household share of 36.3 percent in NUTAM (National Urban Television Audience Measurement), besting the 34.4 percent of ABS-CBN’s Halalan 2016. Meanwhile, GMA’s special coverage of the inauguration of President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo, Panata Sa Pagbabago, last June 30 registered a household share of 38.8 percent in NUTAM, ahead of ABS-CBN’s 33.6 percent as per Nielsen data.
Business Developments Across broadcast platforms, flagship GMA Channel 7’s revenues improved by 34 percent and comprised the lion’s share of the total airtime revenue pie. Leading free-to-air local news channel GMA News TV also exceeded its performance last year with a 10 percent increase in revenues.
The Network’s radio operations likewise registered a double-digit growth of 41 percent, as well as Regional TV, which manages GMA’s broadcast operations in the different regions, with sales 16 percent higher than last year. Revenues from international operations also climbed 16 percent, driven by the increase in subscriber numbers of the Network’s international channels GMA Pinoy TV, GMA Life TV, and GMA News TV International at 9 percent, 24 percent, and 71 percent, respectively.
The growth was spurred by the comeback tie-up with carrier OSN in the Middle East; the launch of GMA channels on StarHub, one of the major payTV operators in Singapore; and LycaTV in Europe. The channels are made available on cable, DTH (direct-to-home), IPTV (internet protocol television) and OTT (over-the-top)/mobile platforms through GMA’s payTV and telco partners worldwide.
Meanwhile, subsidiaries operations posted a combined revenue growth of 32 percent led by GMA New Media, Inc. (NMI), the Network’s forerunner in technology. NMI capped off the first half of 2016 with a 36 percent increase in online advertising sales due mainly to the steady increase in sales from programmatic partners. Substantial revenues from OTT platforms also account for the growth in NMI’s sales.
According to Effective Measure, the Network portal www.gmanetwork.com ranked as the number one website in the country in terms of pageviews from January to July 2016 with 1.1 billion pageviews versus the 882.9 million of the rival network’s portal.
Furthermore, GMA News Online (www.gmanews.tv) remained the Filipinos’ preferred news source online as it recorded 109.8 million pageviews during the election period from May 9 to 11 – the highest number of pageviews among local online publications for three consecutive days and a feat that has never been accomplished by a local site to date.
GMA Records also delivered revenue improvements boosted by the strong sales of Alden Richards’ first album that has already reached 7-time platinum status, among other successful releases. The Network’s content syndication arm, GMA Worldwide, Inc. (GWI), further expanded its market with new content partnerships in the ASEAN region and beyond.
Notably, GWI sold the format rights of a number of Kapuso programs to production companies in Mexico, marking a first in the Philippine broadcast industry. In addition, GWI also syndicated several hours of dramas to a major broadcast company in Canada. Revenues aside, GMA continued to reap awards in the local and international fronts including the prestigious New York Festivals and the US International Film and Video Festival, in recognition of the Network’s unwavering commitment to bringing superior news and entertainment to Filipinos here and abroad.
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