BROADCASTING firm GMA Network Inc. saw its profits slide by 40 percent in 2014 due to the absence of election-related advertisements, the company’s chief honcho disclosed on Monday.
The network’s net income stood at P1.01 billion in 2014, a 39.5-percent drop from P1.67 billion the year prior, as revenues went down by 8 percent to P11.94 billion last year from P12.95 billion in 2013.
Operating expenses remained flat at P10.6 billion.
“The year 2014 was both challenging and rewarding,” GMA Chairman and CEO Felipe L. Gozon said.
Despite its dismal financial health—as compared to last year—the network remained the top broadcasting firm in Mega Manila and Urban Luzon, based on data from Nielsen TV Audience Measurement.
Last year was also a banner year for dzBB, GMA’s flagship AM station, as it became No. 1 in Mega Manila in the second quarter due to stronger news and public-affairs programming, and the station’s efforts in garnering and keeping the trust of its listeners through its brand of “Serbisyong Totoo.”
The locally listed broadcasting company also gained ground in the global market, after its international business unit generated revenues of P1.07 billion, following the increase in subscriber count of GMA Pinoy TV, GMA Life TV and GMA News TV International.
Meanwhile, audiences in Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Nigeria, to name a few, continue to enjoy GMA content as GMA Worldwide, the global content distribution and acquisition arm of the network, sold an aggregate 2,052 hours of locally produced programs and movies.
GMA New Media Inc. significantly increased its online-advertising revenues by 79 percent versus 2013, boosted by the sustained growth in page views and unique browsers for both GMA News Online and the GMA Network Portal, GMA’s official entertainment web site. The increase is also attributed to the strategic and aggressive use of social media, and to enhancements that have made the web sites more intuitive, relevant and reader-friendly.
The Gozon-led network also declared cash dividends of 25 centavos per share, payable on May 19 to shareholders on record as of April 24, 2015. The dividends totaling P1.215 billion represent a payout ratio of 120 percent in relation to the company’s 2014 net income. Since its initial public offering in 2007, GMA has returned a total of P15.46 billion to its shareholders.