By ALBERT CASTRO

Food supplements, herbal medicines and alternative advertising approach enabled GMA Network, Inc.,to post a 10 percent increase in profits from P1.79 billion to P1.96 billion.

The broadcast company’s ads grew despite reduction in expenses by regular heavy advertisers.

Gross revenues went up 6 percent to P9.4 billion, from P8.8 billion last year, with airtime revenues from TV and radio posting a 6 percent increment at P8.8 billion.

There was a noted reduction in ad spending by the company’s "volume-advertisers" but while this could have reduced the income of the company, a 40 percent growth in spending by the "non-volume advertises" helped the company improve it sales, according to GMA vice president for TV sale Leah Nuyda.

Volume advertisers refer to big ad spenders like multinational companies which spend billions for their promotional activities. Non-volume advertisers include manufacturers of alternative products like herbal medicines, food supplements and the likes, according to Nuyda.

GMA chairman Felipe Gozon, III said "there is already a flight to liquidity among advertisers"

Gozon was reacting to the reduction of ad minutes in the company’s unit QTV 11.

Gilberto R. Duvait, Jr., GMA chief operating officer, however expressed confidence that the company will continue to grow as they maintain strong ratings, generating ads for the company even after they increase rates.

Duavit said that GMA is again set to increase rates by next year even after they have just rates this year.

GMA on April effected an increase which imposed an effective rate increase of 5 – 7 percent on the company’s rate cards.

GMA continued to command the biggest share of ad minutes in the industry with 77,221 ad minutes paid by advertisers, comprising 36.01 percent of the 214,454 total ad minutes paid. GMA posted a 15.2 percent increase in total ad minutes.

GMA earnings before interests, taxes, amortization, and depreciation (EBITDA) was up 3 percent at P3.6 billion.