ABS-CBN Corp. on Wednesday reported a net loss rising 52.2 percent in the first half of the year attributed to the absence of political advocacies and advertisements.
The Lopez-led company said the net loss total P2.2 billion in the January to June period from P1.4 billion last year.
In the second quarter alone, ABS-CBN posted a net loss of P1.01 billion from only P249.8 million last year.
Adjusting for non-recurring and one-time gains last year of P1.191 billion from political ads, asset sale, and one-time expenses, however, the loss actually eased by 16.1 percent to P426 million compared to last year.
ABS-CBN said the improvement is made possible by better ad sales and lower cost.
Consolidated revenue reached P8.8 billion, lower by 7.2 percent from P9.4 billion last year. Regular advertising amounted to P2.9 billion, down 9.1 percent while consumer sales fell 6.3 percent to P5.8 billion.
ABS-CBN said total costs and expenses amounted to P10.6 billion, down 7 percent from P11.4 billion last year.
