SM Prime allots P80 billion for 2022 capex

MANILA, Philippines — SM Prime Holdings, the listed property developer of the Sy Group, is setting aside P80 billion for its capital expenditures this year, to be financed by internally generated funds and external borrowings.

This year’s capex is higher than the P65 billion spent last year, according to the company’s annual report filed with the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) yesterday.

Of the P65 billion in 2021, the biggest bulk was spent on the residential segment with P34 billion, while P26 billion was spent on malls. The commercial business had a capex of P3.7 billion while hotels and conventions received P1.5 billion.

At present, SM Prime has 61 residential projects, 46 of which are in Metro Manila and 15 outside the capital region.

For this year, the company aims to launch 15,000 to 20,000 residential units.

SM Prime has 78 shopping malls in the Philippines with 8.9 million square meters of gross floor areas and seven shopping malls in China with 1.3 million square meters (sqm) of gross floor area (GFA).

The company plans to launch four new malls this year, subject to the guidelines and prevailing quarantine restrictions of local government units.

“These new malls, plus the expansion of the company’s existing malls, will provide an addition of almost 0.3 million sqm of GFA,” SM Prime said.

SM Prime’s Commercial Properties Group has 12 office buildings with a combined GFA of 700,000 sqm, while its hotels and convention centers unit has a portfolio of five convention centers, two trade halls and nine hotels with over 2,200 rooms.

The company is raising up to P30 billion from the issuance of five, seven and 10-year fixed rate bonds to fund general capital working requirements.

SM Prime recorded a net income of P21.8 billion last year, up from P18 billion in 2020.

This was on the back of consolidated revenues of P82.3 billion last year, same level as 2020. Consolidated operating income increased by 11 percent to P32.4 billion.