ABS-CBN Jan-June net loss narrowed by 60%

Stronger content revenues and tightened spending helped ABS-CBN Corp. to pare down its losses in the first half of the year by 60 percent.

In a disclosure on Wednesday, the media giant said net loss dropped to P852 million from P2.13 billion from a year ago.

Total revenues jumped 6 percent to P8.28 billion from P7.79 billion. This was mainly driven by its content production and distribution business.

Advertising revenues climbed 27 percent to P3.8 billion from P3 billion. This was on the back of stronger regular and election-related ad placements.

“Regular advertising revenue benefited significantly from improved ratings performance of leading primetime shows, including “Batang Quiapo,” “Incognito” and “TV Patrol,” the company said.

A boosted presence online, particularly on the iWant and Kapamilya Online Live platforms, also allowed ABS-CBN to post a 5-percent growth in digital advertising revenue.

Expenses during the June semester, meanwhile, decreased by 12 percent to P8.94 billion from P10.21 billion.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) likewise soared to P568 million from P25 million.

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The firm, previously a dominant player in the broadcasting industry, went off the air in 2020 after Congress denied the renewal of its franchise. This led to thousands of job losses, while Filipinos reeled from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still, ABS-CBN has seen a bright spot for growth in content production.

“Despite ABS-CBN Corp.’s franchise not being renewed, the company continued to explore and pursue strategic business relationships with local and foreign entities to ensure maximum exposure and monetization of its content assets,” it said.