SM opens 67th mall

SM PRIME Holdings, Inc. will be opening the doors for its 67th mall in the country today (Dec. 15), allowing the company to further strengthen its presence in Southern Luzon.

In a statement, the listed property giant said SM Center Lemery will add 25,000 square meters (sq. m.) of gross floor area (GFA) to its portfolio, ending the year with a footprint of over 8 million sq. m. in the Philippines.

“Lemery has been a gateway to different attractions in Batangas, and with this, it’s been continually developing to meet the needs and standards of its residents and visitors. SM Center Lemery takes part in meeting these needs,” SM Prime President Jeffrey C. Lim said in a statement.

SM Center Lemery will be the company’s third mall in Batangas after SM City Batangas and SM City Lipa.

The newest shopping mall will have three floors offering a mix of services from retail and food tenants. It will also have staple brands located in other SM stores such as SM Hypermarket, BDO, Ace Hardware, Miniso, SM Appliance Center, and Watson’s among others.

SM Prime said around 90% of spaces at SM Center Lemery have already been leased out.

The property holding firm of country’s richest man Henry Sy, Sr. has already opened six new malls earlier this year, namely SM Center Pulilan in Bulacan, SM CDO Downtown Premier in Cagayan de Oro, S Maison at Conrad Manila in Pasay City, SM Cherry Antipolo in Rizal, SM City Puerto Princesa in Palawan, and SM Center Tuguegarao Downtown in Cagayan.

SM Prime’s continued mall expansion pushed its net income attributable to the parent by 15% to P20 billion in the first nine months of 2017. Revenues rose 12% year on year to P64.69 billion.

Shares in SM Prime saw a 3.56% uptick or P1.30 to close at P37.80 at the stock exchange on Thursday. —