Multi-media firm ABS-CBN Corporation assured its shareholders of its commitment to return to profitability and protect their investment in the company.

During the firm’s annual stockholders’ meeting, ABS-CBN President and CEO Carlo Katigbak said cited “improvements and the continuing upward trajectory in financial performance” that “are indicators that the return to profitability is possible in the near term.”

He noted that, “we recognize our responsibility to protect the investment you have made in our company. I realize that our stock price today means that many of you have lost money or have experienced drastic reductions in the value of your investment.”

“Let me assure you that we are committed to achieving the full potential of ABS-CBN and substantially improving the price of your shares... We commit to reward in your faith in us—both financially and in the shared joy of achieving our dreams together,” Katigbak added.

He said the firm has taken several steps to improve its performance such as the commercial partnerships signed with companies like ZOE and TV5 which have resulted in an improvement in ratings.

From a low of 1.1 percent after ABS-CBN’s shutdown, it has now achieved a 4.1 percent rating, with primetime growing from 2.1 percent to 9.6 percent. This gives it an audience share on primetime of 27 percent versus GMA Network’s 58 percent.

Katigbak said second half sales in 2020 versus second half sales in 2021 show that ad revenues grew by 65 percent.

“We are very encouraged by the growth of our digital and international businesses. Digital revenues were at 2.3 billion in 2021, increasing by 48 percent from 2020. Our websites attracted 109 million unique users from all over the world, close to three times the number of users compared to the previous year,” he added.

International revenues now account for 19 percent of total revenues and ABS-CBN continues to exert efforts to expand this revenue stream.

“We also continue to find ways to reduce debt. We started 2020 with 26 billion in interest-bearing loans and have reduced that to 21.5 billion in 2021. For this year, we are currently already at 18.4 billion and we hope to reduce it further to 14 billion or less,” Katigbak said.

He stressed that, “Our biggest priority today is ensuring that ABS-CBN continues to tell excellent stories. That’s why we focus on keeping our best talent across the organization—creative, performing, production, journalistic, and managerial.” “We want to tell our stories to as many people as possible. To this end, we have started signing partnerships for our shows to air on A2Z, TV5, and GMA. We have also done deals to air our content globally through digital platforms like Netflix, Viu, and IWantTFC,” he added.

Katigbank explained that, “We are determined to build a future for ABS that does not solely rely on broadcasting. Instead, we are doubling down on excellent storytelling that reaches a wider audience on any network or on any platform.”