ABS-CBN says President’s attacks come with territory

ABS-CBN Corp. on Thursday brushed aside President Duterte’s attacks on the television network, saying it came with the territory.

“It’s part and parcel of our work being a media institution,” Eugenio “Gabby” L. Lopez III, ABS-CBN chair, told a worried shareholder during the company’s annual meeting on Thursday.

Mr. Duterte has accused ABS-CBN and the Philippine Daily Inquirer of unfairness in reporting about him, including his war on drugs, which has cost the lives of thousands of mostly poor drug users and pushers, drawing expressions of concern from the United Nations, United States, European Union and international human rights organizations.

Duterte not the first

“Let me just say, we have not yet encountered an administration that at one point or another had not had some issue with the media in general, and ABS-CBN in particular,” Lopez said.

It was the first time an official of ABS-CBN had spoken publicly since Mr. Duterte launched his offensive last week.

It could also be the last time the company would discuss the matter, with Lopez noting “the way we will deal with these problems are not in the public eye, but privately.”

Congressional franchiseLopez sought to reassure investors on Thursday, as some worried about Mr. Duterte’s threat of “karma.”

The investor also asked about ABS-CBN’s congressional franchise, which will expire in 2020.

“Definitely there’s a little political noise, but we don’t anticipate this [approval process] will undergo any significant problems,” Lopez said.

No impact

Mr. Duterte’s tirades had little to no impact to ABS-CBN’s day-to-day business, the company’s chief strategy officer, Raymund Miranda, told reporters on Thursday.

ABS-CBN still derives more than half of its revenue from advertising.

“We continue to be up. We are doing well in terms of our ratings,” Miranda said.

“I think it’s being relevant, it’s really just that,” he added, denying Mr. Duterte’s accusation of bias.

Surging profits

ABS-CBN saw its profit surge last year, with a big boost coming from election-related advertising ahead of the May 9 presidential balloting.

Its full-year 2016 net income hit P3.5 billion, a year-on-year gain of 39 percent.

Full year revenue hit P41.6 billion, up 9 percent.

Share price stableMiranda said the company’s share price remained stable despite Mr. Duterte’s attacks.

The company shares, which closed unchanged at P46 each on Thursday, have gained about 4.5 percent so far this year.

That figure, however, is down 22 percent from its peak in April last year, weeks before Election Day.