ABS-CBN inks P5 B loan with UnionBank

Media and entertainment giant ABS-CBN Corp. has executed a P5 billion term loan agreement with UnionBank of the Philippines, the company said yesterday.

“The loan shall be used to partially finance the company’s capital expenditures and general corporate requirements,” ABS-CBN said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

It added that the loan has a term of 10 years.

Last year, ABS-CBN inked a P6 billion loan deal with Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), proceeds of which will be used to refinance maturing debt.

ABS-CBN earlier said it is allocating about P6 billion in capital expenditures for this year, a portion of which will fund the firm’s continued transition into a digital company.

The company categorizes its operations primarily into media networks and studio entertainment; cable, satellite and broadband; digital and interactive media; and consumer products and experiences.

It is also diversifying in new businesses outside the media space such as food and beverage, customer and merchant e-wallet services, and cosmetics production sectors.

In the first quarter of 2019, ABS-CBN nearly doubled its net income to P808 million from P410 million in the same period last year, driven by higher advertising revenues from political ad placements.

Consolidated revenues of the company from advertising and consumer sales reached P10.4 billion, up 15 percent from P9.01 billion in the same period last year.

Advertising revenues rose by 24.4 percent yearon-year to P5.4 billion, attributed primarily to both political placements and growth in regular advertising.

Excluding political placements, the company said regular advertising grew by P633 million or 14.6 percent higher yearon-year.