SMIC 9-mo income up 13.6% to P14.17 B

MANILA, Philippines - SM Investments Corp. (SMIC), the investment holding firm of the country’s richest man Henry Sy, said its nine-month net income grew 13.6 percent to P14.17 billion, mainly driven by the robust performance of its banking, retail and real estate businesses.

In a financial report submitted to securities regulators, SMIC said consolidated revenues rose 13 percent to P140.1 billion from P124.34 billion.

Banking units (Banco De Oro Unibank and China Banking Corp.) were the major contributors to SMIC’s consolidated net profit at a combined 31.3 percent, followed by retail and shopping malls with 28.1 percent and 23 percent, respectively. The group’s property business, through SM Development Corp., accounted for 17.6 percent of total.

Harley T. Sy, president of SMIC, said the company “realized its revenue and income growth objectives due to the consistent achievements attained by its subsidiaries.”

“Our strategy is to focus on our core businesses where we have the necessary expertise to continually expand and deliver value for all our stakeholders. We intend to maintain this approach in the last quarter of 2011, which is traditionally our strongest period,” Sy said.

The company’s balance sheet remains strong, with consolidated net debt to equity ratio at 32 to 68.

BDO posted net earnings of P7.6 billion during the period under review, 19 percent higher than P6.4 billion recorded last year through China Banking Corp. reported a 7.55 percent drop in net income to P3.38 billion.

Net earnings of SM Retail climbed 12 percent to P3.95 billion from P3.55 billion. Total sales amounted to P101.9 billion, up 10 percent year-on-year. It opened 24 new stores so far this year, bringing its total number of stores to 163 (41 department stores, 32 supermarkets, 58 Savemore branches, 28 hypermarkets, and four Makro outlets).

Mall operator SM Prime Holdings, Inc. likewise reported a 14 percent growth in consolidated net income for the first nine months of 2011 to P6.41 billion on revenues of P19.27 billion, or an increase of 13 percent.

SMDC, meanwhile, continued its upward momentum, posting a net profit of P3.1 billion or an increase of 51 percent from the previous level. Consolidated revenues jumped 72 percent to P11.85 billion.

Strong sales of SMDC’s residential condominium projects and on-track construction completion rates contributed significantly to the company’s positive results. From January to September this year, SMDC sold about 7,900 residential units worth approximately P17.6 billion.