QUEZON CITY – Broadcast company GMA Network (GMA) reported a net income of P422 million in Q3 2014, up 66 percent versus the previous quarter.
Consolidated revenues for Q3 2014 stood at P3.141 billion, representing an 8 percent improvement over the P2.915 billion generated in Q2. Both airtime revenues and gross earnings from other businesses posted positive results and contributed to the increase in the topline.
GMA Channel 7 grew its sales by 7 percent while GMA News TV, the country’s number one news channel, hiked up its earnings by 12 percent. GMA Radio likewise registered a 15 percent increase in sales on account of its stronger listenership.
Meanwhile, revenues from other businesses led by GMA International, the business unit that manages the operations and distribution of the Network’s three international channels, rose 12 percent compared to Q2 2014.
Total operating expenses slightly increased by 2 percemt to P2.590 billion, as both production cost and General Administrative Expenses (GAEX) climbed 2 percent and 1 percent, respectively, in between quarters. Personnel cost was higher mostly from salary adjustments and the amortization of signing and appreciation bonuses in September as part of the Network’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The Network ended the third quarter with an EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) of P972 million, surpassing the previous quarter’s figure by 31 percent.
“The third quarter was a promising period for GMA with both our revenues and ratings on the uptrend. We are hoping to sustain this performance until the end of the year as we remain committed to offering superior programs across all genres and platforms,” said GMA Network Chairman and CEO Felipe L. Gozon.
Business Developments
GMA International recorded higher subscriber figures in Q3 2014 compared to the previous quarter as it continues to reach out to more Filipino households abroad. Subscribers for GMA’s international channels GMA Pinoy TV, GMA Life TV and GMA News TV International grew by 2 percent, 1 percent and 8 percent, respectively.
GMA Worldwide, a wholly owned subsidiary that acquires foreign programs for GMA and syndicates Kapuso programs to the international market, sold 718 worth of program hours from 17 titles in the third quarter for telecast in Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Cambodia and Nigeria.
GMA New Media, Inc. (NMI) substantially grew its revenues from online advertising by 10 percent quarter-on-quarter as readership and audience reach of the GMA Network Portal (www.GMANetwork.com) soared in the covered period.
GMA News Online, the official news website of GMA News and Public Affairs, performed exceptionally well in the third quarter as it showed a significant increase in both pageviews and unique browsers, according to data from Effective Measure. The website surpassed the 86.4 million total pageviews generated in Q2 as figures jumped to 153.1 million in Q3. Monthly average unique browsers also increased from 5.6 million to 11.6 million in between quarters. The growth can be attributed in large part to better, more aggressive social media initiatives, which ultimately boosted sales from online advertising.
Furthermore, Digify, a subsidiary of NMI, remained at the forefront of new media initiatives as it engineered groundbreaking techno-based solutions for major brands, with some even gaining recognition from local and international award-giving bodies.
GMA artist Julie Anne San Jose’s album, Deeper, under GMA Records, debut strongly with over 11,000 digital and physical units sold (according to sales from June 1, 2014 to September 20, 2014), earning it a Gold Record Award.
On the regional front, the Network continued to improve and expand its regional coverage with several transmitter upgrades. The signal outcome of the completed restoration and upgrade of the TV relay facilities of TV-8 Coron, which was damaged by Supertyphoon Yolanda in November last year, showed remarkable increases from the signal levels recorded in 2010. Its estimated coverage grew by 45% brought about by the increase in transmitter power (from 100W to 500W) and the installation of a new antenna system.
The site relocation of TV-11 Iligan in September 2014 not only expanded the station’s coverage in the provinces of Lanao del Norte and Misamis Occidental, but also resulted in improved signal strength and quality and more importantly enabled the carriage of the Northern Mindanao programs originating from GMA Cagayan de Oro.
Ratings
The third quarter saw GMA grabbing the nationwide lead in TV ratings from its closest competitor, according to data from Nielsen TV Audience Measurement.
During the covered period, GMA registered a 34.2 percent total day household audience share in NUTAM, higher than ABS-CBN’s 34.1 percent and TV5’s 9.9 percent.
GMA also kept its lead in its stronghold areas of Urban Luzon and Mega Manila, where it was ahead of competition by substantial margins. Urban Luzon and Mega Manila account for 77 percent and 60 percent, respectively, of the total urban TV households in the entire country.
In Urban Luzon, GMA scored 37.8 percent in total day household audience shares versus ABS-CBN’s 30% and TV5’s 9.2 percent; while in Mega Manila, GMA posted 38.8 percent, ahead of ABS-CBN’s 27.7 percent and TV5’s 9.8 percent.
Meanwhile, GMA’s flagship AM station DZBB became number one in Mega Manila based on Nielsen data from June to September, driven by its aggressive programming efforts.
Beyond the numbers, GMA continued to reap awards and recognition from prominent local and international institutions as a testament to its unwavering commitment to merit and excellence.
In photo from left: GMA EVP and CFO Felipe S. Yalong, GMA President and COO Gilberto R. Duavit, Jr, GMA Chairman and CEO Felipe L. Gozon, and GMA Marketing and Productions, Inc. President and COO Lizelle G. Maralag at the GMA Network Q3 Performance Briefing
