ABS-CBN Corporation expects to improve its performance this year, four years after losing its broadcasting franchise, as it continues to focus on providing content on air and via online or digital platforms.
During the firm’s annual stockholders’ meeting, ABS-CBN President and CEO Carlo L. Katigbak said “We remain confident that 2024 will be an even better year than last year.”
He noted that, “So far, ABS-CBN's first quarter operating income excluding Sky is at –P780 million versus -P1 billion the previous year, or a 22 percent improvement. We hope to finally be cash flow positive by the end of 2024.”
However, Katigbak said Sky Cable “continues to be a challenge on our earnings with net losses excluding non-recurring items increasing from P391 million in 2022 to P653 million in 2023.
“This is mainly caused by the decline in pay TV customers and the lack of capital to expand our broadband facilities. Plans are in the works to improve Sky's viability and we will discuss them with you at the proper time.”
He added that, in 2023, ABS-CBN took various one-time non-cash charges to impair the value of its shares in Sky. On a consolidated basis, these non-recurring expenses amounted to P9.1 billion.
The firm disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange that Sky has debt amounting to P4.5 billion and P2.05 billion is due within one year.
Meanwhile, Katigbak said ABS-CBN will pursue organic growth by expanding its audience base noting that, “While the foundation of that is still excellent storytelling, we are also committed to working with all our partners to help us reach various audiences.”
“To us, whether that's on movies or on any other medium, it's really a function of working with the best talent, creative, performing, production, etc. And ABS is committed to working with the best talent in the industry to maintain the excellence of our storytelling,” he said.
ABS-CBN also continues to pursue partnerships for streaming services which is one of several platforms that it considers important to reach its audiences.
“We create content that is exclusive to streaming, but we're also licensing our TV shows and movies to the various streamers,” he said.