ABS-CBN TO RAISE AT MOST P10 BILLION TO FINANCE CONSTRUCTION OF WORLD CLASS SOUND STAGES!

MANILA - ABS-CBN Corp on Friday said it plans to raise money next year to finance the construction of a Hollywood-style studio in the northern part of Metro Manila. 

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the Lopez-owned broadcasting company said its board approved the issuance of P5 billion worth of retail bonds with an option to raise an additional P5 billion. 

Out of the P5 billion that would be raised next year, P2 billion would be allotted for the construction of soundstages on a 15-hectare lot in Bulacan, said Melissa Ortiz, head of ABS-CBN investor relations.

The company had said it would invest P6 billion over the next three years for the construction of its soundstages. The network aims to save about 65-75 percent in shooting location costs with the construction of its soundstages. 

Ortiz said the remaining money would be used for its inventory of programming content. 

In the first nine months of the year, ABS-CBN  recorded a profit of P1.89 billion, up by 22 percent from P1.555 billion in the same nine months last year. Consolidated revenues of P25.227 billion from advertising and consumer sales had risen 16 percent from P21.79 billion last year. 

Advertising revenues reached P14.773 billion, a growth of 20 percent from P12.33 billion a year ago. Consumer sales amounted to P10.454 billion for an 11 percent increase from P9.46 billion in 2012.

SOURCE