SM property giant gets 18% higher profit in 9 months of 2019

One of the biggest companies in the Philippines, SM Prime Holdings, increased its net profit in the first nine months by 18 percent year-on-year to P27.6 billion on higher earnings from its shopping malls and its residential and commercial property projects.

In the third quarters of 2019 alone, SM Prime’s net profit went up by 22 percent year-on-year to P8.3 billion, driven by a 13-percent revenue growth to P27.98 billion, the property firm, led by the Sy family, disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, Nov. 4.

“SM Prime’s recent developments and expansion programs in various progressive cities in the Philippines have contributed significantly to the company’s strong performance in the first nine months of 2019,” said SM Prime president Jeffrey Lim in a press release.

“Our core businesses led by the malls and residential segments, are set to sustain the strong performance as we approach the fourth quarter of the year,” the press release said.

SM Prime’s Philippine mall revenues grew revenues by 8 percent year-on-year in the first nine months to P42.03 billion.

The group currently operates 81 malls – 74 in the Philippines and seven in China. In the Philippines, 42 percent of SM Prime’s mall spaces were in Metro Manila, while the rest are strategically located in key cities and emerging provinces.

The residential business segment, led by SM Development Corp. (SMDC), accounted for 38 percent of the company’s consolidated revenues. This segment grew by 26 percent year-on-year to P31.92 billion.

SM Prime’s commercial properties group and SM Hotels and Convention Centers posted a combined revenue growth of 11 percent in the first nine months to P6.83 billion./TSB