GMA Network Inc. is setting aside about P2 billion in capital expenditures for 2022 for its expansion initiatives and content creation investments as it expects the economic situation to improve by next year.
“For next year, the CAPEX earmarked is a little less than P2 billion, which will be for expansion of our digital transmission network, upgrading of post-production capabilities and of our content playout facilities, and expansion of regional TV network, etc.,” GMA Chairman and CEO Felipe L. Gozon said during the company’s special stockholders meeting on Thursday.
“The [amount] includes our investments in content and other investments,” he said.
Gozon expressed optimism that the situation amid the COVID-19 pandemic would improve further next year alongside the continuous recovery of the economy.
“The situation about the pandemic is improving. That’s why we expect the momentum in the latter part of the fourth quarter of this year to continue up to next year. Next year, being a presidential election year, we have a reason to be optimistic,” Gozon said.
“However, it still depends on how far and fast our recovery will be and also whether the pandemic will surge or not,” he added.
“We are hoping that the COVID restrictions will continue to be relaxed or even eliminated and that our economy continues to recover and grow.”
As of the first nine months of 2021, GMA Network saw a 54% growth in its net income to P6.02 billion from P3.91 billion in the same period in 2020 on the back of higher revenues and reduced corporate income tax rate from 30% to 25% due to CREATE law.
Gozon said GMA Network will “exceed our net income target [of 15%] for this year.”
In 2020, the company booked a net income of P5.98 billion from P2.62 billion in 2019.
As to the anticipated heightened competition due to the expected return of ABS-CBN’s free-to-air broadcast franchise, Gozon said, “I have to say that even before the ABS-CBN shutdown, GMA was already the No. 1 free TV station in the Philippines.”
“After ABS-CBN was shut down, we continued to improve our reach and content in all aspects like creative, production quality, technical, etc. We feel that we remain ready for the competition as before,” he said.
The GMA Network chairman said that despite next year being a presidential election year, the share of political ads to the total revenues of the company will not significantly change.
“When I checked in the last 2019 elections, political ad sales only contributed 5% of our total consolidated sales. With the pandemic and the Comelec-imposed increase of 40% to 50% discounts on published rates for political ads, we don’t think that the share of political ads will significantly change from prior elections,” he said.
“In other words, our main source of revenues will still come from recurring advertisers,” he added.
GMA Network, Gozon said, will be “looking to more exciting and compelling original content in the coming year and to the continued developments in technology that will bring us closer to our consumers.”
“We think that to remain number one we have to continue to produce world-class quality content to our audiences here and abroad,” he said.
The company will invest heavily in talent management and development and continue to put up more digital stations nationwide “so that many Filipino homes can enjoy digital TV viewing,” according to Gozon.
“We have to continue to pursue new platforms and partnerships to deliver content to more Filipinos abroad,” he said. —KBK, GMA News
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