Mexico's TV Azteca Q3 net profit falls 96% on higher taxes and expenses

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's TV Azteca posted a 96% annual fall in its third-quarter net profit on Tuesday, hurt largely by higher income taxes, according to a financial filing.

TV Azteca, controlled by Mexican business magnate Ricardo Salinas Pliego, posted a net profit of 4.2 million pesos ($211,400), down from 103 million ($5.18 million) in the year-ago period.

The broadcaster said it payed 256 million pesos in income taxes during the quarter, a 53% increase from the 167.2 million recorded in the year-ago-period.

Meanwhile, company revenues dropped 2.2% to 3.4 billion pesos during the July-to-September period.

TV Azteca's debt stood at 9.8 billion pesos at the end of the period, a drop from the 12.6 billion owed the year before.

In August, the company said that some of its investors were seeking early repayment of its 2024 bond for a total of $400 million.

Pliego's companies have been involved in a tax dispute with the Mexican government and paid a backdated tax credit of just over 2.8 billion pesos last week.

($1 = 19.8700 Mexican pesos)

(Reporting by Valentine Hilaire; editing by Richard Pullin)