SM Prime’s net income climbed by 27% to P9.4b in first quarter

PROPERTY developer SM Prime Holdings Inc. said Monday net income grew 27 percent in the first quarter to P9.4 billion from P7.4 billion in the same period last year, lifted by a double-digit growth in revenues.

First-quarter consolidated sales rose 20 percent to P28.7 billion from P23.9 billion on strong sales from its mall business.

Consolidated operating income went up 30 percent to P13.9 billion from P10.7 billion.

“We are pleased to report a strong first-quarter consolidated financial performance on SM Prime’s business. This is a testament to the resilience of our businesses and the hard work and dedication of our employees. Particularly, our recurring businesses have remarkably bounced back after being hit by the mobility restrictions and economic disruptions,” SMPH president

Jeffrey Lim said.

The company’s Philippine mall business posted an 88-percent increase in first-quarter revenues to P15.4 billion from P8.2 billion a year earlier.

Malls’ rental income soared 72 percent to P13 billion because of an increase in tenant sales and foot traffic and the full charging of rental fees that the company has implemented since the second half of 2022.

The China mall business also registered revenues of RMB0.2 billion in the first three months of 2023, almost the same level as last year’s.

Meanwhile, SMPH’s residential business under SM Development Corp. posted P8.5 billion in revenues, down 29 percent from last year’s P12 billion partly because of canceled sales as an effect of high inflation, rising domestic interest rates and the lapse of Bayanihan Law.

The company said, however, that cancellations were beginning to moderate in the first quarter of 2023.