In a financial report filed with securities regulators, SM Prime said gross revenues improved by 20 percent during the nine-monthperiod to P3.3 billion from P2.61 billion the same period a year ago. Rental revenues accounted for bulk of the total, rising 24 percent to P2.71 billion from P2.19 billion owing to the opening of new malls.
Among the new malls that opened in the second half of 2005 and this year are SM City San Lazaro, SM Supercenter Valenzuela, SM Supercenter Molino, SM City Sta. Rosa, SM City Clark, SM Mall of Asia, SM Supercenter Pasig, The Block at SM North Edsa and SM City Lipa.
These new malls, which have an average occupancy level of 95 percent, opened with a total gross floor area of one million square meters. Same store rental growth is at six percent.
SM Prime president Hans Sy said: "We are pleased with our results in the third quarter. We look forward to our financial report in the fourth quarter, which is usually our strongest period on account of the holiday season, with Halloween activities ushering in the entry of the Christmas season."
Income from operations went up 19 percent to P5.26 for the period January to September this year while operating expenses amounted to P4.13 billion or an increase of 22 percent from the previous level’s P3.39 billion.
In the third quarter alone, SM Prime’s net profit amounted to P1.29 billion from P1.18 billion the previous level. Revenues jumped 27 percent to P3.3 billion from only P2.61 billion.
SM Prime currently has 27 supermalls strategically located nationwide with a total gross floor area of 3.6 million square meters.
SM Prime said interest-bearing debt to stockholders’ equity slightly increased to 0.44:0.56 from 0.38:0.62 as of Sept. 30, 2006 and Dec. 31, 2005, respectively. In terms of profitability, ROE remains steady at 15 percent for both periods.
Loans payable jumped by 108 percent due to additional short-term, peso-denominated and dollar-denominated loans amounting to P1 billion and $51.7 million, respectively, availed during the year.