Retail sales, mall operation boost SM holding firm's bottomline

MANILA, Philippines - SM Investments Corp. (SMIC), the Sy family’s holding company, reported on Wednesday that its net income for the third quarter improved on better revenues. The company reported that its earnings for the quarter ending September rose 7.3 percent to P3.618 billion from last year’s P3.373 billion. Revenues climbed about 16 percent to P31.744 billion while expenses also grew by about 21.2 percent to P27.526 billion. For the first nine months of the year, SMIC said its bottomline rose 14 percent to P9.6 billion as consolidated revenues expanded 16.9 percent to P97.4 billion. “SMIC’s on-target performance was driven by the strong growth of the mall, retail, and property sectors," the company said. It added that overall retail sales increased 20 percent to P81.9 billion, while sales from real estate operations surged 92 percent to P4.2 billion. Besides SM malls, the company’s retail units include SaveMore, Makro and SM Hypermarket. As of September, SM malls total 31 malls including three in China. “The second half of 2008 gives us more reason to be optimistic about meeting our targets. We have since seen drastic cuts in gasoline and food prices, which combine well with a weak peso as they provide a boost to many of our customers, including families of overseas workers who earn in US dollars. As such we view the fourth quarter of the year with greater optimism. It’s the time when consumer spending heightens owing to the holiday season," said Harley Sy, SMIC president. Of the holding company’s entire net income, retail and malls gave the largest share with a combined 77.1 percent contribution, the real estate business accounted for 9.5 percent, and the banks contributed 13.4 percent. The holding company’s units include mall developer SM Prime Holdings Inc., property developer SM Development Corp., and lenders Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. and China Bank. On Wednesday, SMIC’s shares tumbled P6 or 3.0769 percent to P193. Henry Sy Sr, the Sy family patriarch, is considered the richest man in the Philippines. - GMANews.TV