QUEZON CITY, Philippines -- The consolidated net income of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. grew 9.0 percent in 2008 to P1.39 billion from consolidated revenues of P22.3 billion.

Consolidated revenues from airtime and direct sales rose by P2.37 billion or 12 percent year-on-year to P22.3 billion in 2008, inclusive of gross revenue contribution from Skycable of P2.6 billion for three quarters beginning April 2008.

Overall core business revenue growth for 2008 was 15 percent, net of the non-recurring license fees of P548 million in 2007.

ABS-CBN’s core airtime businesses registered a slight contraction in revenues for the year to P13.4 billion or 1.0 percent, despite a 56 percent growth in cable TV airtime sales. Skycable contributed P92 million of airtime revenues between April and December 2008, bringing consolidated airtime revenues to P13.5 billion.

ABS-CBN’s direct sales businesses have increasingly complemented its airtime revenues over the past five years, reaching 39 percent of total in 2008. Direct sales reached P8.9 billion, with a P2.59 billion contribution from Skycable.

Direct sales from core businesses (before the consolidation of Skycable) rose by P510 million to P6.3 billion, a 9 percent gain over 2007’s P5.8 billion as ABS-CBN
Global’s subscription revenues grew 28 percent year-on-year in US dollar terms.

Net income attributable to shareholders for 2008 is P1.38 billion, a P116.7 million or a 9.0 percent improvement over last year’s net income.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for 2008 reached P6.1 billion, P1.1 billion or 21 percent higher over last year’s P5 billion, and yielding an EBITDA margin of 27.4 percent for 2008 versus 25.4 percent a year ago.

ABS-CBN said it continues to uphold its leadership in the national TV ratings with an overall audience share of 44 percent or 6 percentage points higher than GMA's 36 percent, based on the data from global research specialist Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) for the period of 1-31 March 2009. -- Chupsie Medina