SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SM Prime), one of the largest integrated property developers in Southeast Asia, reported a 17 percent increase in consolidated net income for the first nine months of 2018 to P23.44 billion from P20.05 billion the previous year.

The consolidated revenues went up by 15 percent to P74.56 billion from P64.69 billion of the same period in review, while the consolidated operating income is up 16 percent to P34.91 billion from P30.14 billion of last year.

SM Prime reported a 20 percent growth in net income for the 3rd quarter of the year to P6.82 billion from P5.66 billion the previous year. The surge in income growth was traced to the increase of the company’s revenue by 16 percent to P24.79 billion from P21.44 billion of 2017.

“SM Prime’s continuous growth as reflected in our first nine-month report shows the results of our strategic expansion in various developing cities in the country. Through the solid performances of our core businesses, we are positive that we will deliver the net income growth we committed when we integrated five years ago. We intend to keep this growth trajectory to enrich more lives in the communities that we serve and deliver more sustainable integrated developments for the betterment of our country,” SM prime president Jeffrey Lim said.

The driving growth of provincial malls

The consolidated mall revenues, which accounts for 58 percent of SM Prime’s nine-month total revenues, recorded a 12 percent increase to P43.26 billion from P38.58 billion of last year. Backed by the 8 percent same-mall-sales growth, mall rental revenues went up by 12 percent to P36.83 billion from P32.83 billion. The growth was driven by the new malls opened from 2016 to 2018, which are mostly in the provinces.

The company’s cinema and event ticket sales surged by 17 percent to P3.92 billion from P3.34 billion of last year. This was supported by higher gross box office receipts from international and local blockbuster movies shown in 2018 such as Avengers: Infinity War, The Hows of Us, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Black Panther and The Nun. Other mall revenues, which include leisure, entertainment and merchandise sales, posted P2.51 billion, a 4 percent increase from the same period last year.

Mall operating income increased by 12 percent to P23.97 billion from P21.38 billion, operating income margin was stable at 55 percent.

SM Prime has 78 malls — 71 in the Philippines and seven in China — with a total gross floor area of 9.5 million square meters. The company has opened four malls in the first nine months of the year, namely, SM Center Imus in Cavite, SM City Urdaneta Central in Pangasinan, SM City Telabastagan in Pampanga and SM City Legazpi in Albay.