Posted on November 03, 2011 09:25:46 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]
SM PRIME Holdings, Inc., the operator behind the country’s largest mall chain, hiked its consolidated net income by double-digits on the back of store expansions and rental growth.
The Sy-led mall operator yesterday said it posted a 15% growth in its third-quarter net income to P2.14 billion from P1.86 billion in the same period last year.
Revenues increased by 15% to P6.56 billion year on year.
Rental revenues from new and existing stores, which accounted for 85% of total revenues, rose by 14.29% to P5.52 billion in the July-to-September period from P4.83 billion last year.
Third-quarter cinema ticket sales, meanwhile, grew by 15.88% to P777.78 million from P671.20 million on the back of blockbuster films released earlier this year.
Operating expenses meanwhile increased by 13.83% to P3.21 billion from P2.82 billion last year due to a hike in administrative costs and depreciation values, the company’s latest financial statement showed.
“The notable results delivered by SM Prime so far this year give us greater confidence in attaining our full-year target for both the Philippines and China, especially since we are moving towards the holiday season,” SM Prime President Hans T. Sy said in a press statement.
SM Prime’s third-quarter performance brought its nine-month net income to P6.41 billion, a 14% gain from P5.62 billion in year-ago levels. Consolidated revenues amounted to P19.27 billion, a 13% increase from P17.03 billion, while operating expenses during the first nine months of 2011 rose by 12% to P9.12 billion from P8.14 billion last year
Mall expansions from the opening of SM City Calamba, SM City Novaliches, SM City Tarlac, and SM City San Pablo in the previous year had added 289,000 square meters in net leasable space, SM Prime said.
Earlier this year, SM Prime opened SM City Masinag in Antipolo City, and SM City Suzhou in China. Expansion works are further planned for SM City Davao in Mindanao and SM City Dasmariñas in Cavite by the end of the year.
SM Prime shares fell by 0.46% to P12.92 yesterday from P12.98 on Wednesday. -- Franz Jonathan G. de la Fuente
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