SM Prime income nearly halved in first nine months of 2020

The bottom line of SM Prime Holdings Inc. was nearly halved in the first nine months of the year, as business was hit by restrictions imposed in the country to curb the spread of COVID-19.

In an emailed statement, SM Prime said its consolidated net income fell 48% to P14.4 billion in the January to September period versus P27.6 billion in 2019. Consolidated revenues likewise fell 29% to P69.7 billion from P85.0 billion previously.

The Sy-led company has yet to release its comprehensive financial report for the third quarter of the year.

"SM Prime's core businesses, primarily its malls, showed slight recovery as the government started to re-open more industries to help the economy going in to the second half of the year," SM Prime president Jeffrey Lim said.

"We have also implemented tighter controls on our expenses achieving a major reduction in operating expenses quarter on quarter. Nevertheless, we continue to provide further assistance to our various stakeholders as well as to the programs led by the government in containing the spread of the virus and strengthening back our economy," he added.

SM Prime has four business units involved in malls, residential, commercial, and hotels and convention centers, with subsidiaries SM Development Corporation, Costa del Hamilo Inc., Tagaytay Resort Development Corporation, SM Arena Complex Corporation, SM Hotels and Conventions Corp., and SM Land (China) Limited. The company ended 2019 with 74 malls in the Philippines, and seven shopping malls in China.

SM Prime said revenues of its mall business fell 57% to P18.3 billion, residential business up 7% to P34.2 billion, commercial business at P3.7 billion, and hotels and convention centers with P1.3 billion.

"As we work together to bound back from these challenges, SM Prime will stay committed to finding solutions to serve the ever-changing needs and aspirations of its customers, while providing growth to all our stakeholders and maintaining a safe and healthy environment for everyone," said Lim.

SM Prime in June announced a P100-million spending program to boost its e-commerce program, with the shift to online business amid the community quarantines imposed across the country.

Shares in SM Prime ended trading on Monday at P34.20 apiece, down by 30 centavos or 0.87% from last Friday's finish of P34.50 per share.—AOL, GMA News