TV Azteca had a bittersweet ending in 2021. A new strain of Covid-19, the blows of inflation in the Mexican economy and the decrease in advertising affected the financial results of Ricardo Salinas Pliego’s television station in the last quarter of 2021.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, TV Azteca reported a net profit of 251 million pesos, which meant a drop of 81.3%, compared to 1,344 million pesos in the same period of the previous year.
“We anticipate the permanence of difficult conditions for the domestic open television advertising market in 2022, so we have been particularly disciplined in preserving resources that allow us to normalize costs and expenses related to the operation of the business and the acquisition of content, essential for the competitiveness of our platforms in the coming quarters,” commented Rafael Rodríguez, General Director of the company.
The financial report of the company issued to the Mexican Volar Exchange (BMV), shows a slight growth of 4% in its sales: 3,967 million pesos, compared to 3,805 million pesos in the same period of the previous year.
The media company explained that this result was due to a weak performance of the Mexican economy that affected the television advertising market in Mexico and translated into moderation in the company’s sales growth.
“We reinforced the application of extraordinary measures, of a temporary nature, related to the reduction of production costs and the acquisition of content in the period, which allow us to preserve the financial and operational viability of TV Azteca,” the company specified in its financial report.
From October to December 2021, its operating flow (EBITDA, for its acronym in English), amounted to 1,483 million pesos, an increase of 7%, which was moderated by the exchange rate, as well as increases in the tax provision for tax contingencies of 2021.
The company noted that total costs and expenses increased 2% in the quarter as a result of 1% growth in production, programming and transmission costs, which together had a 15% increase in selling and administrative expenses.
As of December, TV Azteca’s debt was 12,629 million pesos, compared to 13,529 million the previous year, whose decrease is due to the reduction in the balance of the company’s Stock Certificates that was carried out last March.
