SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SM Prime), the Philippines’ dominant shopping mall developer and operator, reported another strong quarter with a 12 percent increase in its consolidated net income to P2.12 billion in the first quarter of 2011 from P1.89 billion during the same period last year.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, SM Prime said revenues grew 13 percent to P6.07 billion, while EBITDA rose 11 percent to P4.19 billion, for an EBITDA margin of 69 percent.
“SM Prime’s performance for the first three months of the year is an encouraging start for us,” said SM Prime President Hans T. Sy.
He added that ‘while we keenly monitor the current economic developments such as inflation and fuel price hikes, as well as the political situation in the Middle East, we remain optimistic that the company’s growth trend seen in the first quarter will be sustained.”
During the period, rental fees still accounted for the largest share of SM Prime’s consolidated revenues, reaching P5.26 billion, for a robust growth of 14 percent.
This came from a combination of the 6% growth in same store rentals and the increased revenues from the four new malls in 2010. The new malls that opened last year were SM City Tarlac, SM City San Pablo, SM City Calamba, and SM City Novaliches.
Combined, these four new malls added 289,200 square meters (sqm) to the company’s total gross floor area (GFA) and presently register an average occupancy rate of 94 percent.
From January to March 2011, cinema ticket sales amounted to P0.57 billion, compared to P0.59 billion during the same period last year due to fewer blockbuster movies available.
Meanwhile, income from operations during the period registered a 12 percent growth from P2.91 billion in 2010 to P3.27 billion in 2011.
Operating expenses, on the other hand, increased 13 percent, to P2.80 billion, from P2.47 billion in 2010, largely because of the new malls.
For 2011, SM Prime plans to open three new malls in the Philippines and one in China. Scheduled to open are SM City Masinag in Antipolo City, SM City San Fernando in Pampanga, SM City Olongapo in Zambales, and SM City Suzhou in China. The company is also set to expand two of its existing malls in the Philippines this year, namely SM City Davao in Southern Mindanao and SM City Dasmariñas in Cavite.
By the end of this year, SM Prime will have 43 malls in the Philippines and four in China with an estimated combined GFA of 5.9 million sqm.
