GMA Network declares P3.5B cash dividend

GMA Network Inc. has declared P3.548 billion of cash dividends to shareholders on record as of April 20, 2017.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, GMA said its board of directors approved a cash dividend of P0.73 per share during a meeting in Quezon City on March 27.

The network noted the cash dividend is payable on May 15, 2017.

GMA Network Chairman and CEO Felipe L. Gozon said cash dividend declaration  reaffirms the company's commitment to providing the best returns to shareholders.

“Since our IPO launch in 2007, we have been paying out cash dividends equivalent to almost 100 percent of our net income every year,” Gozon said.

The network has declared total dividend per share and total dividends amounting to P3.91 and P19.004 billion, respectively, from 2008 to 2017.

Gozon is confident that while the network’s financial performance reached unprecedented levels in 2016, highlighted by a 72 percent increase in net income, GMA will achieve its financial targets this year.

“Even without political advertisements this year, we are expecting GMA’s financial performance to be even better than last year,” he said.

GMA maintained its lead in nationwide TV ratings in the first two months of 2017 based on data from Nielsen TV Audience Measurement.

In January to February, GMA posted an average people audience share of 41.6 percent in National Urban Television Audience Measurement (NUTAM) ratings versus ABS-CBN’s 34.9 percent and TV5’s 7.9 percent.

It also dominated all day parts in NUTAM during the same period. — Ted Cordero/VDS, GMA News