LISTED media company ABS-CBN Corp. said it expects to return to profitability within 18 months, citing higher advertising revenue and contributions from its digital, film, and music operations.
“I believe we are finally well-positioned for a turnaround this 2025. The advertising market is recovering from last year and we will get an extraordinary bump from election-related advertising,” ABS-CBN President and Chief Executive Officer Carlo L. Katigbak said during the company’s online annual stockholders’ meeting on Thursday.
Mr. Katigbak said the company is poised to achieve profitability on the back of expanding partnerships, sustained gains from its digital businesses, and revenue contributions from film and music, despite the absence of a congressional franchise.
“At this time, even if the franchise were granted by Congress to ABS-CBN, we would not be able to rebuild our former national network because all the frequencies we used to transmit have already been granted to other broadcasters,” he said, adding that the company will instead focus on content production and a digital-first model.
For the first quarter, ABS-CBN trimmed its attributable net loss to P425.65 million from P841.54 million a year earlier, as revenues improved during the period.
Gross revenue for the January-to-March period rose by 3.68% to P4.23 billion from P4.08 billion in the same period last year.
Advertising and consumer revenues totaled P3.18 billion, up by 20.91% from P2.63 billion a year ago. However, revenues from cable television and broadband declined by 26.9% to P1.06 billion from P1.45 billion.
“We have finally completed all our efforts to reduce expenses and believe we are now operating at maximum efficiency… With reduced debt levels, we expect financing costs to decline, improving our cash flow and profitability,” Mr. Katigbak said.
On digital platforms, the company’s YouTube channel continues to expand, with around 51 million subscribers and 68.5 billion lifetime views, he said.
The company is also banking on the sale of its land to Ayala Land, Inc., which is expected to help fund debt reduction.
In February, Ayala Land signed a memorandum of agreement to acquire a portion of ABS-CBN’s property in Quezon City for P6.24 billion.
The transaction covers up to 30,000 square meters, or 68.14% of ABS-CBN’s 44,027.30-square-meter property. The agreement is subject to conditions, including clearance from the Philippine Competition Commission.
“We will be consolidating all our operations and studios inside the ELJ Communications Center and plan to complete this move by July 2026. We are scheduled to turn over the property to Ayala Land by December 2026,” Mr. Katigbak said.
At the stock exchange on Thursday, shares in the company rose by 16 centavos or 3.86% to close at P4.31 apiece. — Ashley Erika O. Jose
