GMA 7 defers IPO to early 2007

this story was taken from www.inq7money.net
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Posted: 8:36 PM | Jun. 04, 2006
Elizabeth L. Sanchez
Inquirer

Published on page B6 of the June 5, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

TELEVISION GIANT GMA NETWORK INC. IS putting off its proposed maiden offering until the first quarter of 2007, saying it was not in a rush to raise fresh capital this year, company chair Felipe Gozon said.

GMA 7 earlier planned on an initial public offering in July. However, Gozon said the network was also considering the financial climate after the recent fallout in global stock markets.

"It's not (because of ) a shareholder matter nor is it because of new accounting standards. We don't want to be pressured into listing. We don't need to raise new funds right away because we don't have any (outstanding) obligations," Gozon said.

Gozon said there were a number of initiatives the company wanted done this year to enhance the company's value.

He said GMA 7 was in talks with US media giant Time Warner to carry the network's programs in the East and West coasts. "We are deeply in negotiations with Time Warner," Gozon said. Aside from the United States, GMA 7 is also studying possible distribution partnerships in Canada.

For its international as well as local expansion this year, Gozon said the network was setting aside P1 billion.

GMA 7 is also sticking to its net income target this year of P2 billion, almost the same as its profit goal in 2005.

The network prepaid the balance of its five-year, long-term loan of P1.9 billion in February last year, nine months ahead of the scheduled due date of November. Primarily using internally generated funds, GMA 7 paid more than P543 million in principal and interest.

In terms of its regional expansion, the company has upgraded its transmitter and other technical facilities in Cebu and Davao and has installed a transmitter in Bacolod. More improvements would also be implemented in other key cities in the country, the company said. GMA Pinoy TV, which was launched in the United States, Japan, Guam and Malaysia last year and the Middle East and Cerritos, California, this year, continues to increase its subscriber base. As of last March, GMA Pinoy TV already had more than 80,000 subscribers.

Since its launch in November 2005, subsidiary QTV Channel 11 has also maintained its hold on the number three spot in ratings.