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The ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation is aiming to raise an additional P600 million this year in order to expand the broadband business of unit SkyCable Corp. The broadband service which is dubbed the Sky Broadband is being marketed as the fastest Internet product of its kind in the country.

ABS-CBN chief financial officer Rolando Valdueza announced last Wednesday, the company’s intention to raise the funds as it aims to expand its broadband presence in Metro Manila. “We want to pursue the expansion of Broadband this year. For now, we want to focus on Metro Manila, but we plan to operate in large cities in the province next year,” said Valdueza. The company at present has “small-scale” operations in Cebu City, Davao City and Baguio City.

Valdueza also added that the P600 million funding requirement will be on top of the P900 million which SkyCable allotted for its 2009 spending plan. It is most likely that the funds for the broadband expansion will be sourced from bank loans. Valdueza said that the “payback is about one year,” when asked about the profit expectation of the broadband business.

The Sky Broadband has 18,000 subscribers at present. Valdueza said they expect it to increase to 40,000 over the next 18 months. The company is targeting to grow its broadband user base by a tenth this year.

SkyCable, at present, accounts for 15 percent of ABS-CBN’s consolidated revenues, which rose 7 percent to P11.7 billion in the first semester of the year.

The Lopez-controlled media giant also reported that its second-quarter profits rose 21 percent to P621 million from the comparable period last year. Revenues in the period hit P6.4 billion, from P5.9 billion last year on stronger airtime sales which grew 12 percent. Because of this, the January to June profits rose 8 percent to P813 million.