SM Prime inks lease for 2nd mall in Cebu

MANILA, Philippines - Leading mall developer SM Prime Holdings Inc. has signed a lease agreement with Everjust Realty Development Corp. for a 46,296-square meter lot in Consolacion, Cebu where the company plans to build its second mall in the province.

The mall, to be named SM City Consolacion Cebu, would have a gross floor area of 57,436 sqm when completed in the fourth quarter of 2011.

“The signing of the lease contract is one of the first significant steps that SM Prime is taking towards completing its second mall in Cebu. The company considers Cebu as an ideal site for further expansion of SM malls, given its strategic role in the Visayas region and its strong export capability. It is also an ideal tourism destination and a take off point for island hopping by ferry to other destinations,” said SM Prime president Hans T. Sy.

The company first made its presence in Cebu with SM City Cebu, the country’s fourth largest shopping complex.

For the rest of 2010, SM Prime will be opening SM City Calamba, the third SM mall in the province of Laguna, and SM City Novaliches in Quezon City.

Outside the Philippines, the company is set to open SM Suzhou, its fourth mall in mainland China.

By yearend, the company would have 40 malls in the Philippines, with a total gross floor area of 4.8 million sqm.

SM Prime posted a net income of P3.8 billion in the first half this year, up 10 percent from the previous year-period on higher rental revenues.

Consolidated revenues rose 17 percent to P11.3 billion from P9.6 billion. Of the total, rental revenues contributed the biggest share, growing 13 percent to P9.5 billion compared with P8.4 billion a year earlier.