WHILE ABS-CBN'S PROFITS ARE UP, GMA NETWORK'S Q3 NET INCOME DROPPED 38%!

MANILA - GMA Network Inc on Monday said it is unlikely to meet its profit growth target this year after earnings fell sharply in the third quarter.

The broadcasting company said its net income in the third quarter dropped by 38 percent to P353 million from last year's P573 million. Earnings in the first nine months of P1.488 billion likewise were down six percent from P1.59 billion in 2012.

The network blamed the decline in profit on the seven percent increase in operating expenses to P7.6 billion.

Consolidated revenues amounted to P9.75 billion in the first nine months, up four percent from last year's P9.3 billion. In the third quarter alone, revenues slipped to P3.03 billion from last year's P3.41 billion.

Felipe Yalong, GMA chief financial officer, told reporters that the 10 percent increase in profit guidance for 2013 is no longer achievable.

"The target that we are looking at 2013 is equal or slightly higher than last year," Yalong said. Last year, the network earned P1.65 billion.

Felipe Gozon, GMA chairman and chief executive officer, said the last few months will be crucial in the broadcasting company meeting its target.

"We are hoping to surpass, if not equal, last year's financial performance," Gozon said.

He said prospects for 2014 would depend on how the network's TV programs would fare with the audience.

"Right now, we're trying to solve our ratings problem. If we can resolve that we will be able to project a better 2014," Gozon said.

GMA said it led competition in the viewer-rich areas of urban Luzon and Mega Manila in the third quarter based on the data of Nielsen TV Audience Measurement.

In urban Luzon, GMA registered a 38.1 percent average total day households audience share, ahead 7.8 points over ABS-CBN's 30.3 percent and by 26.4 points over TV5's 11.7 percent average.

In national urban, ABS-CBN led the ratings with 34.3 percent compared to GMA's 34.1 percent and TV5's 12.2 percent.

Q1 2013
ABS-CBN = P508 million (up 66% from P306 million yoy)
GMA7 = P603 million (up 55% from P388 million yoy)

Q2 2013
ABS-CBN = P831 million (up 34% from P621 million yoy)
GMA7 = P532 million (down 18% from P649 million yoy)

Q3 2013
ABS-CBN = P552 million (down 12% from P628 million yoy)
GMA7 = P353 million (down 38% from P573 million yoy)

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JAN-SEPT. 2013

ABS-CBN = P1.89 billion (up 22% from P1.56 billion yoy)
GMA7 = P1.49 billion  (down 6% from P1.61 billion yoy)