TV Azteca Announces Net Revenue of Ps.2,669 Million and EBITDA of Ps.610 Million in the First Quarter of 2021

MEXICO CITY, April 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- TV Azteca, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV: AZTECACPO; Latibex: XTZA), one of the two largest producers of Spanish-language television programming in the world, today announced financial results for the first quarter 2021.

"Innovative, solid quality content, together with a low comparison base with respect to the previous year´s revenue, resulted in an 8% sales growth in the period," commented Rafael Rodríguez, CEO of TV Azteca.

"In spite of this, the company's revenue is well below levels prior to the health contingency, thus we strengthtened strategies that foster the company´s operational vialibilty, by means of strict content production budgeting — with extraordinary costs reductions — and higher efficiencies in every business segment this period," he added.

First quarter results

Net revenue for the period was Ps.2,669 million, 8% higher the Ps.2,462 million for the same quarter of last year. Total costs and expenses decreased 25% to Ps.2,059 million, from Ps.2,734 million for the previous year.

As a result, the company reported EBITDA of Ps.610 million, compared to negative EBITDA of Ps.273 million a year ago. TV Azteca reported operating income of Ps.436 million, from an operating loss of Ps.537 million in the previous year.

The company recorded a net loss of Ps.281 million, compared to a net loss of Ps.2,776 million in the same period of 2020.

Net sales

Advertising sales for the company in Mexico increased 8% to Ps.2,513 million, from Ps.2,326 million the previous year, as a result of higher demand for advertising spaces, in the context of economic performance indicators recovery compared to the previous year.

The sum of revenue of TV Azteca Guatemala and TV Azteca Honduras, as well as the company's content sales outside of Mexico, was Ps.50 million, compared to Ps.34 million the previous year.

Azteca Comunicaciones Perú reported revenue of Ps.106 million from Ps.102 million a year ago. The revenue resulted from telecommunications services and reimbursements from the Peruvian government for maintenance and operation of the fiber optic network.

Costs and SG&A Expenses

Total costs and expenses decreased 25% in the quarter as a result of a 25% reduction in production, programming and transmission and telecommunications services costs — to Ps.1,885 million, from Ps.2,505 million a year ago —together with a 24% reduction in selling and administrative expenses, to Ps.174 million, compared to Ps.229 million from the previous year.

The reduction in costs this period is related to strict budgets in the generation of content — which preserve the operational viability of the company — while maintaining the superior quality of the programming.

The costs of Azteca Comunicaciones Perú were Ps.80 million, from Ps.97 million a year ago. The reduction is mainly due to lower costs for the maintenance of the transmission infrastructure.

The reduction in selling and administrative expenses reflects the strengthening of firm strategies to boost operating efficiency, which translated into lower operating expenses, travel and fees, partially offset by higher personnel and service expenses this quarter.

EBITDA and net results

The company's EBITDA was Ps.610 million, compared to a negative EBITDA of Ps.273 million in the same period of the previous year. TV Azteca reported operating income of Ps.436 million, from an operating loss of Ps.537 million a year ago.

Significant variations below EBITDA were the following:

An increase of Ps.102 million in other financial expenses, derived from expenses related to the cancellation of exchange rate and interests hedges on the company's debt with cost.

A reduction of Ps.1,513 million in foreign exchange loss, as a result of net liability monetary position in dollars, together with a lower depreciation of the exchange rate of the peso this quarter compared to the previous year.

TV Azteca recorded a net loss of Ps.281 million in the quarter, from a net loss of Ps.2,776 million a year ago.

Balance Sheet

As of March 31, 2021, TV Azteca's debt was Ps.12,548 million, compared to Ps.14,954 million from the previous year.

In March, the company announced that it repurchased and canceled Ps.1,211 million of its Certificados Bursátiles with a principal of Ps.4,000 million and maturity in 2022, as a consequence of the purchase of Certificates in the secondary market.

The cash and cash equivalents balance at the end of the quarter was Ps.1,917 million, compared to Ps.1,516 million a year ago. The company's net debt as of March 31, 2021 was Ps.10,631 million, from Ps.13,438 million the previous year.

The company´s cash balance can be relative high within the first months of the year, due to incoming resources from the signing of advertsing advances from clients in the period, and that are essential to face cash uses related to the company's operation in subsequent months.

"During the quarter, we maximized the efficiency in the use of resources and were able to design strict cost and expense controls — which respond to the challenges of the current environment — to boost cash generation and preserve the operational and financial viability of TV Azteca, which allows to continue bringing superior quality content on broadcast television and digital media to the audience, "concluded Mr. Rodríguez.

About TV Azteca

TV Azteca is one of the two largest producers of Spanish-language television programming in the world, operating four television networks in Mexico:  Azteca uno, Azteca 7, adn40 and a+, through more than 300 owned and operated stations across the country. The company also owns TV Azteca Digital, operator of several of the most visited digital platforms and social networks in Mexico.

TV Azteca is a Grupo Salinas company (www.gruposalinas.com), a group of dynamic, fast growing, and technologically advanced companies focused on creating: economic value through market innovation and goods and services that improve standards of living; social value to improve community wellbeing; and environmental value by reducing the negative impact of its business activities. Created by Mexican entrepreneur Ricardo B. Salinas (www.ricardosalinas.com), Grupo Salinas operates as a management development and decision forum for the top leaders of member companies. These companies include TV Azteca (www.TVazteca.com; www.irtvazteca.com), Grupo Elektra (www.grupoelektra.com.mx), Banco Azteca (www.bancoazteca.com.mx), Purpose Financial (havepurpose.com), Afore Azteca (www.aforeazteca.com.mx), Seguros Azteca (www.segurosazteca.com.mx), Punto Casa de Bolsa (www.puntocasadebolsa.mx), Totalplay (irtotalplay.mx; www.totalplay.com.mx) and Totalplay Empresarial (totalplayempresarial.com.mx). TV Azteca and Grupo Elektra trade shares on the Mexican Stock Market and in Spains' Latibex market. Each of the Grupo Salinas companies operates independently, with its own management, board of directors and shareholders. Grupo Salinas has no equity holdings. The group of companies shares a common vision, values and strategies for achieving rapid growth, superior results and world-class performance.

Except for historical information, the matters discussed in this press release are concepts about the future that involve risks and uncertainty that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Other risks that may affect TV Azteca and its subsidiaries are presented in documents sent to the securities authorities.

Investor Relations:

Bruno Rangel
Grupo Salinas
Tel. +52 (55) 2601-5400, ext. 11502 
[email protected]

Rolando Villarreal
TV Azteca, S.A.B. de C.V.
Tel. +52 (55) 2601-5400, ext. 11508
[email protected]

Press Relations:

Luciano Pascoe
Tel. +52 (55) 1720 1313 ext. 36553
[email protected]

SOURCE TV Azteca, S.A.B. de C.V.