SM Investments nets P27.5 B in 2013

MANILA, Philippines - SM Investments Corp. (SMIC), the holding firm for the various businesses of the Sy family, recorded a double-digit earnings growth last year as the uptick in the banking business offset the lower income of the property and retail units.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, the mall and banking conglomerate said  its profits climbed 11 percent to P27.45 billion in 2013 from P24.67 billion a year ago. Revenues jumped 13 percent to P253.5 billion from P223.9 billion in 2012.

“SMIC’s full-year earnings for 2013 reflect the overall progressive economic environment of the country which, however, is tempered by competitive dynamics and the effects of continuous climate change,” said SMIC president Harley T. Sy.

“With that in mind, SMIC is constantly evolving to take advantage of the enormous opportunities that are made available by a fast emerging economy,” he added.

The banking business, led by BDO Unibank, accounted for 42.8 percent of total earnings, followed by the property group at 35.9 percent and the retail unit at 21.3 percent.

BDO’s earnings surged 56 percent to P22.6 billion from P14.5 billion a year ago “in an environment marked by high system liquidity and volatility in the capital markets,” SMIC said.

The Philippines’ largest lender in terms of assets posted a 19-percent growth in gross customer loans to P911 billion on broad-based expansion across key markets.

Total deposits spiked 44 percent to P1.3 trillion on the back of steady growth in low-cost deposits as well as the inflow of maturing special deposit accounts.

It allowed BDO to record a 20-percent increase in net interest income to P43.2 billion while non-interest income picked up 30 percent to P31.8 billion.

Umbrella property firm SM Prime Holdings Inc. said its recurring income, which discounts a restructuring cost of P1.27 billion, rose eight percent to P17.54 billion last year.

Consolidated revenues rose five percent to P59.79 billion from P57.22 billion, mainly driven by rental revenues that climbed 11 percent to P32.2 billion from P28.95 billion.

SM Prime said it benefited from new malls that opened in 2012 and 2013. Excluding the new malls and expansions, rental revenues grew seven percent, with shopping centers in China also contributing to earnings.

SM Prime has 48 malls in the Philippines with a total gross floor area of 6.2 million square meters (sqm) and five shopping centers in China with a total gross floor area of 800,000 sqm.

In 2013, SM Prime’s real estate sales reached P20.78 billion as it added three new residential condominium projects.

Lastly, department store and supermarket unit SM Retail Inc. said its income slipped 15 percent to P5.6 billion from P6.6 billion despite a 14-percent growth in sales to P180.9 billion.

As of end-2013, SM Retail had a total of 241 stores: 48 SM Department stores, and 193 food stores (39 SM Supermarkets, 39 SM Hypermarkets, 93 Savemore stores, and 22 Waltermart supermarkets).