SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SM Prime), the Philippines’ dominant shopping mall developer and operator, reported a 10 percent growth in consolidated net income last year to P7.0 billion from P6.4 billion in 2008.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Friday, SM Prime said its revenues grew by 15 percent to P20.5 billion in 2009 while EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) rose 14 percent to P14.0 billion, for an EBITDA margin of 68 percent.

These results include the operations of the three SM malls in China, which are located in the cities of Xiamen and Jinjiang in Southern China, and Chengdu in Central China.

“Due to the continued support and patronage of our customers, SM Prime again met its targets for 2009 despite the challenges brought about by the global recession and a series of natural calamities that affected most of Luzon in the latter part of the year,” said SM Prime president Hans T. Sy.

Rental fees, which accounted for 86 percent of total revenues, reached P17.7 billion, for a 15 percent increase year-on-year. Growth was driven mainly by new malls and the expansion of existing malls.
In 2009, SM Prime opened SM City Naga in Camarines Sur, SM Center Las Piñas in Metro Manila, and SM City Rosario in Cavite . It also expanded SM City Rosales in Pangasinan, SM City Fairview, and SM North EDSA through its Sky Garden.

Combined, the new malls and expansions in 2009 added 226,000 square meters (sqm) to the company’s total gross floor area (GFA), bringing it to 4.5 million sqm, for a 5 percent increase.

Operating expenses increased 19 percent to P9.7 billion last year, largely due to expenses related to mall expansion. Income from operations posted a 12 percent growth from P9.6 billion in 2008 to P10.8 billion in 2009.

For 2010, SM Prime plans to open SM City Novaliches in Quezon City; SM City Tarlac; SM Supercenter Masinag in Antipolo City, Rizal; and SM City Calamba and SM Supercenter San Pablo, both of which will be in the province of Laguna.

SM Prime is also scheduled to open SM Suzhou in fourth quarter, its fourth mall in China, which is located in the province of Jiangsu. SM Suzhou will have a GFA of approximately 70,000 sqm.