ABS-CBN sees return to profit in 18 months

MANILA, Philippines — Media giant ABS-CBN Corp. expects to return to profit within 18 months, gaining from the success of the films and shows it is producing and the cost-cutting measures it is pursuing.

The network that almost died from its franchise loss five years ago is now expected to bring down its group-wide debt to below P13 billion this year, primarily through proceeds from the sale of its Quezon City property.

At the company’s annual stockholders meeting, ABS-CBN president and CEO Carlo Katigbak said finances are starting to turn around for the company that was denied a fresh congressional franchise in 2020.

ABS-CBN’s debts rose to as high as P21 billion, marked by demand slowdown during the pandemic and worsened by its forced exit on free TV. But since then, it has tried to survive by producing films, music and shows for partners here and abroad.

Katigbak said ABS-CBN is now seeing light at the end of the tunnel, as it trimmed its debt to P16 billion last year. The company expects debts to further decline to P12.8 billion this year on higher revenues and reduced spending.

Likewise, ABS-CBN is banking on proceeds from the sale of its Quezon City property to Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) to settle maturing loans.

ABS-CBN is moving all of its operations to the remaining lot in ELJ Communications Center by July 2026, as the main building, including its transmitter sites, will be turned over to ALI by the end of next year.

In spite of this, Katigbak said ABS-CBN has no plans of returning to free TV even if Congress is friendlier this time to grant the company a legislative franchise.

Katigbak said ABS-CBN is embracing its partnership model where it is producing the content for screening on partners like GMA-7 and TV5.

Similarly, ABS-CBN is boosting the reach of its girl group BINI to take advantage of its growing popularity globally.

“We have finally completed all our efforts to reduce expenses. We believe we are now operating at maximum efficiency, as costs declined by 20 percent compared to 2023 and are currently at a level that we feel is sustainable,” Katigbak said.

ABS-CBN decreased its net loss by more than half to P6.1 billion in 2024, from P12.8 billion in 2023, driven largely by the 14-percent growth in its direct-to-consumer revenues.

This was paired with a 20-percent cut in expenditures to P6.2 billion, as ABS-CBN had to let go of assets and people to achieve efficiency.