SM Prime still a 'buy' on rising mall occupancy- Wealth

Wealth Securities has kept its "buy" call on mall developer SM Prime Holdings Inc. after it reported a healthy first-half results but said any upside to share price may be capped with the stock now trading just 10 percent off its 52-week high. SM Prime -- which is controlled by the group of tycoon Henry Sy Sr. -- said it had a second-quarter net profit of P1.3 billion versus P1.2 billion a year earlier. This brought first-half net profit to at P2.6 billion, up 8 percent from P2.4 billion in the first six months of last year. "The results are largely within market expectations. If annualized, the bottomline figure will appear to be slightly off the P5.6 billion consensus forecast. However, we believe the latter will still be achievable owing to rising occupancy of new malls and the expected stronger showing in the fourth quarter," Wealth Securities said. Wealth Securities said sustained expansion and better efficiencies will underpin long-term growth and market leadership. "SM Prime's strategy of opening four to five malls should continue to underpin its long-term prospects and maintain its leadership in mall operations. SM Prime still has some 118 hectares of landbank in 14 locations around to country. The effort to contain cost and maintain operational efficiencies should also provide an added boost to bottomline going forward," the brokerage firm said. - GMANews.TV